The walking tour was around Old Town of Florence, which is pretty much all of the centre of the city. An awesome place for history, shopping, gelato, fine food and fun! We headed down to Piazza della Signoria first, which is an old square built during the 1300s. This area, including the palace was particularly prominent in the Renaissance era and the time of the Medici family reign.
In this square we saw the full statue of David replica, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time to see Michelangelo's true masterpiece. This is located in a museum in Florence, which apparently has massive lines! Damn no time! Our local Florence guide gave us a very detailed history lesson of the strength and influence of the artists and the power of Florence during this very interesting time. It all sounded like Ninja Turtle history to us!
We had a leather factory tour as a part of the Top Deck inclusions. We started off with a very funny lesson on spotting the difference between fake and real leather, so that was helpful! We weren't overly interested in buying leather in that place, but at least we are equipped with the knowledge for future shopping.
We stopped only for a gelato munch in Florence, as lunch would've been too early and we knew we'd be able to stop later on, on the way to Rome. Florence was truly another beautiful old city that we are keen to come back to and visit on our next trip. One night, regardless of no sleep was not enough!
Rome time! Wow we thought Paris was full of tourists. The city centre of Rome was absolutely pumping! There were people everywhere. Part of our tour with Top Deck was another walking tour in Rome. Luke was awesome once again, taking us to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Venezia, the outside of the Roman Forum and finishing up at the Colosseum. As we were finishing with Top Deck in the morning, it was a great way for us to be oriented around the main city centre.
We actually stopped for a dinner break once we'd come to the Pantheon. Sooooo, sooooo good. A group of six of us ate and enjoyed a large pizza to share and individual dishes of delectable pasta. We sat outside where the action was of course and were loving the local buskers and the general comings and goings of the area. An awesome introduction to Rome.
We headed back as a group on the metro line close to our hotel, which was a little out and then headed out for a few drinks. More than half of the group came out, as a few people were leaving the tour group like us in Rome, so it was our last night! Celebration time! Along with some others, we were struggling a bit....that's what 3 hours sleep and a lot of walking will do to ya!
Everyone headed back to the hotel around 1am, but we stood around talking in the foyer of the hotel for a while. We ended up forging a plan for anyone interested to come and meet up for dinner the next night near the Pantheon.
For those still on the Top Deck tour, it wasn't a night with a prepaid meal so a few were keen. The plan originally started out as a dinner for those who finished up like us and were still in Rome. Looks like it will be a great night tomorrow night. Always good to enjoy times like these with friends!
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