Florence

So this swanky guesthouse that Miriam snagged for Florence has a crazy nice setup. Right off the end of the old bridge and like a block from the Pitti Palace and about 100 meters from the Uffizi. Breakfast is leftovers from our supermarket trip the night before (so Fanta and bread) then its off to the palace gardens, the porcelain museum and the costume museum (Italian fashion from the 1700s to now). A lunch in one of the bars at the edge of the bridge and then off to see Michelangelo's David at the Galleria.
now "bars" here are more like coffee shop/deli/corner bars, as they serve sandwiches, coffee, drink, and often a few pastas, and most people just grab something quick while leaning on the bar, then wash it down with an espresso.
David really is an impressive piece of art, from its immense size, to the details of the veins standing out on the sides of his neck and arms.
The other pretty cool thing I'm finding is that Italians are pretty big on the no extra light thing. I have run into hotel rooms that require you to keep your key in a slot by the door to keep the lights on, and the hallways have these switches with timers that stay on for a few minutes once you hit them. They are positioned by every entrance to the stairwell or hallway, and you hit them on when walking through, and it turns off soon after. Cool.
On another note, it turns out that my sink washing skills are currently at about a C- level. Clean, but not really all that dry. Nothing like walking around in moderately wet socks to make you appreciate doing a better job with laundry.
Our train to Milan was delayed by what the ticket agent called a "harthkwak."
"A what?"
"Do you know terramoto in English?"
"No." She gets it spelled out.
"Earthquake."
It does not seem to have been terribly major, but it was enough to slow transit down by a few hours.