DAY 13

We woke up early and headed to the heart of Florence with our group. We started off at a local leather shop, where we learned all about the creation and validation of real Italian leather (as opposed to the fake stuff that most stores claim to be real). At 10:45 AM, we joined some of our tour mates in a walking tour of Florence, led by a cute little old lady that was born in Florence and has lived there her whole life. She was very knowledgeable about the city and its beautiful architecture, and we were very glad to have the opportunity to learn about this wonderful city. After seeing the Duomo, the Basilica Santa Croce, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and the Baptistry & Piazza della Signoria (along with many others), our time in Florence had sadly come to an end. We boarded the coach at 12:45 PM to head to Rome, finally arriving around 5 PM. Instead of going directly to the hotel, our tour guide decided to get us oriented with this amazing place. Strolling along the moonlit city, he brought us into the Pantheon and showed us the Trevi fountain, the Piazza Venezia, the National Monument of Rome, and the Colloseum! We each threw three pennies into the Trevi fountain; one for good love, one for good luck, and one guaranteeing our return to Rome J. Finally, our tour guide walked us to dinner next to the Colloseum. The salad, Italian lasagna, and small dessert was nothing special, but we were all STARVING after such a long day, so we ate it all up. Then we went back to the hotel and after the amount of walking we had done, fell asleep almost right away. We would have spent more time updating our blog, but unfortunately the Wi-Fi in Italian hotels in usually 5 Euro per hour L