Frazier Blog

Woke up and started a load of laundry and they said it would take an hour.  Never have I seen a washing machine use so little water. I hoped my clothes would come out clean. Used the dead time to shower and pack.  And then the clothes were still washing. And washing and washing. It took about 2hrs just to wash. Luckily I had blogging and planning to do so I did not mind. Finally left the hostel at 11 for the hike of the Duomo, dome, the doiemo and perhaps a hike of the city view.

Duomo hike line was long but quick. Very energetic restaurants pusher moving though the line, spoke at least 3 languages.  Interesting stairs as always.  Met four girls from Massachutes, takes with them, took a photo for them and visa versa. Asked them where they are going next “Rome” “me too!” exchanged contact info and we are going to try and meet up for dinner. We will see what happens.

Loved the view from the top. Always great to see a city like that.  Also a great view of the dome up close and personal. Line was still long for the church so I headed off to hike for a view of the city.

Grabbed some gelato at Grom, a gelato place. Best gelato ever. They don’t even display it, they don’t need too! This place always has a line out the door.  That is where my photo of the day came from.

Stopped for lunch at this cafe near the place on the map where my mom said was an awesome spot. Heard no English inside and no English on the menu.  Always a great sign. Had a spicy salami sandwich of sorts. Whew. Hot.  Cleared out my pores. Headed up the hill to get a view of the city.

I did not consult a map and just headed up. Worked out pretty well then it felt like it had been too long and I asked a local. Via gestures I decided to turn around. Found the gate to a park. Closed. I guess someone died there recently. My time was up so back to the hostel and then train to Rome. Managed to sneak a quick entrance into the Duomo. I was prepared to cut the line but did not have too. Great to see it from the bottom too.

By now I really like the city of Florence. Despite the crowds, I enjoy the building style, tight streets and pedestrian friendly nature.  Areas across the river and back alleys give Florence and even better feel. I think the swarms of tourists had given it a bad vibe to start but once I began exploring the side streets I enjoyed the city much more.

Love these high-speed trains; 1:45 to Rome.  Arrived!  Andy hostel was easy to find and nice. Met two of my roommates and then time for the WC game. What a mad rush of a day: free pizza at the laundry, packing in the Duomo, hike, train, cool room mates and fun people at night hostel.
Struggled to find change to buy tokens to get a beer. Met two friendly American girls in the process. Watching the game was great. The hostel hosted a large contingent of Brazil fans and every time they scored, which was often, they went wild. Fun. Added two guys to our group and we headed out for some pizza. Then we tried to find a park. As we cut through Termini it was closing and we were kicked out by the police.  Never found the park and called it a night.

In Rome,
Paul