A Trip to Florence and Cinque Terre, PART 1 (Rome, IT)

Flower Box above a shop on the Ponte Vecchio

On Friday afternoon, Fathers Rolo Castillo, Jim Walsh, Bill Dickinson and I took the fast train to Florence.  The fast train takes 90 minutes to get to Florence.  We arrived in Florence around 5:30 PM and settled into our hotel.  The hotel, the Convitto della Calza, is a converted 14th century convent.  Although the rooms were austere, as you might suspect from a former convent, the hotel was an easy 20 minute walk to the center of Florence.  It was early evening as we walked to the center of town to find a place to enjoy dinner.  We crossed the Ponte Vecchio and meandered through the streets before deciding on a place to eat.  The attached photos were taken as we walked about the center of Florence.

Shops on the Ponte Vecchio

Jim Walsh, Bill Dickinson, and Rolo Castillo looking in the window of a shop selling gold jewelry which the Ponte Vecchio is known for.

Shop windows on the Ponte Vecchio are boarded up at the end of the night.

The Duomo (cathedral) at night, located in the very center of Florence.

With Bill Dickinson and Rolo Castillo

One of the many outdoor cafes on a side street of Florence.

A carousel in the Piazza della Republica

On the Piazza della Signoria

Fresco of the Last Supper on the wall of the former refectory of the convent, now hotel.  The room is used as a function room of the hotel.

We arrived back at the hotel around 10PM.  The hour was late, especially since we had to catch a 6:00 AM train to La Spezia en route to Cinque Terre.  More about that part of the weekend in tomorrow's posting on my blog, but just to whet your appetite for the spectacular photos you will see on tomorrow's posting I have attached a few.  Many, many more tomorrow!

Stay tuned for Part 2!  La Spezia and Cinque Terre