Saturday, July 05, 2008

Florence, part 1

Some random notes:

1. Perhaps not surprisingly, Italian railways are confusing. We arrived at the trainstation, had to wait 30 minutes to get a ticket from a grumpy agent, then rush from platform to platform because the ticket or signs never said where it was. We were fined 50 euros for not having out Eurorail information filled out properly and then had a racket over our seats. By the time we reached Florence, the mood was foul.

2. The Hotel Ascott, where we're staying, is supposedly 3 stars. Only if there was heavy bribing going on. The air conditioning is dicey, the fridge doesn't work, nor does the tv. We have ants.

3. Despite all of this, we are having a good time. The city is beautiful and we've already walked around a fair bit and have a tour lined up, and several museums still to visit. Plus, the internet cafe I'm writing this from is only 2 euros an hour, as close to a deal as you're going to find around here.

4. We are fine, by the way. Just the one bad day, which happens every vacation. We're ven getting used to the hotel. Cathy's feet are doing better and I got a haircut by a nice German/Italian woman. It is quite possibly the finest one I've ever had. I don't really have enough hair left to need to take 30 minutes on it, but that's what she did.

More when more happens.

No comments: