The bus ride from Venice to Florence was 4 hours and we were greeted at our hotel with a lunch buffet on the terrace. Following lunch we met our local guides and went on a backstreets tour to learn a little about the area and how to navigate the streets. We ended the day with a classic Italian dinner where everyone was excited to pick a dessert off of the dessert cart.
In the morning we met up with our local guide and learned about the Roman life in Florence. In the afternoon we had private cooking lessons at In Tavola Firenze. Learning to cook authentic Italian pasta was a highlight and then sharing the meal with our new friends was an added bonus. We went home with the recipes in hopes of recreating the flavors later. On this day the town was also celebrating saint John the Baptist with a parade and later fireworks that we could see from the hotel. We are all originally from the very small town of San Juan Bautista which was named after saint John the Baptist so this was quite the surprise.
On our third day in Florence we took in the breathtaking art work, sculptures, and history in the Uffizi. The rest of the day was spent exploring the area on our own where we climbed Giotto's Bell Tower and could see throughout the see. We were lucky to have gotten the tickets prior to the trip. The climb was arduous but worth the views.
