Sep 08 2004
Trip to Florence (Firenze)
I (Bing) woke up early in the morning. Jogged to the beach and dived right back in. The water was still warm at 8am! Wonderful weather again.
Took a long train trip to Florence. 8hrs and 3 transfers. For 6 hrs the train was traveling along the same beautiful coast line we visited yesterday. Yes, Sur Mer, Monaco and so on. Passed through many lovely villages. We were assigned a 1st class cabin on one of the lags. We both rested well. Too bad we can’t keep the cabin window open all the time, otherwise, a lot more great pictures to come.
When we arrived at Florence, it was already dark. It took only 5 minutes to our apartment. Florence was most impressive. Especially none of us learned much about it before hand—just for the kick of surprises. Our apartment was almost in the shadow of the Duomo cathedral. Together with a tower, they are colossal buildings. Peeking through the narrow alleys of Florentine streets, it is as if we are seeing the Titanic passing by. Simply stunning.
Bing was particularly enamored. It reminded him of Shanghai, but much cleaner and classy.