Today we got to an early start. We had to catch the 8:13 train to Florence which was the only direct option for the day. We decided it was better to get up early then to have to lug our stuff on multiple trains. Catching the train wasn’t going to be the hard part getting a taxi was the issue. I tried to book one the night before but could not get the app or online to work. Our host gave me some numbers to try in the morning so I wanted to make sure we were early enough that if we had problems we could still make it. We got up, got ready and out the door in record time. I was able to get an English speaking dispatch so I thought all was well but sadly no. The cab driver called because it didn’t understand the location. We had walked around the corner thinking our street was pedestrian only and tried to provide the name of the square. He continued to say he didn’t understand until finally a kind woman walked by and gave him our location. He showed up within minutes and proceeded to turn and drive right by our apartment (a street name I could say) and swept us off to the train station. We arrived early enough to have coffee (Christina) and chocolate croissants before boarding our train. Getting the luggage on was not great but not as bad as I thought. Still dreading the move to Orvieto. We decided to hire a driver to go to our Rome airport hotel so that one hopefully will not be too bad.

The train ride went smoothly and we arrived in Florence at 10:30. Check in was not until 3 so we stored our luggage and headed out to town to have lunch and wander around. We soon passed a leather store with a bright pink bag just waiting for me to walk by. We started not to stop but went back to check out the prices. Three purses and a restaurant recommendation later we headed out for food. And if you are wondering I only bought one.

The suggested restaurant didn’t open until 5 so we walked on and found another place and again shared a bottle of wine pizza and a pasta dish all for less than I would normally spend for a meal and one drink at home. After lunch we wandered a bit and went by to check out our apartment location. It is in the Duomo piazza with a great view of the side of the church. We also checked out a vintage store but it was not really what I was expecting. It was full of old Levi’s and sweaters but nothing really Italian. I was hoping to find a great silk scarf or something but nothing caught my eye.

It was finally close enough to three so we headed back to the train to get our luggage and cab back to the apartment. Again we are in a pedestrian only area so we had to drag our luggage the last bit but finally made it in. Christina refused to use the elevator so I made a few trips with the luggage and we got into the place. And that is when the drama began. The smoke detector was beeping like low battery so we tried to fix it with the ladder we found but it was not enough to reach the ceiling. We contacted the host who first asked us just to take the batteries out but then said she would send someone over. So we headed out to try to find a flea market.

The flea market website said it was open until 7:30 we arrived around 5:30 but it was closed down. We had of course walked 30 minutes passed anything else to do to get to it but I guess January hours were not updated. We decided to go back to the recommended restaurant for dinner and luckily had the receipt from the purses so we could find our way. Sadly it was closed. So we went back to the square and picked the first one we came to. Not our best selection. We have had good luck with food until tonight. We decided against pizza and went with a caprese salad to start and then I got lasagna and Christina shrimp skewers and a Caesar salad.

Her salad came out with the caprese salad and it was the weirdest Caesar dressing I have ever seen or tasted. I thought it was tartar sauce pile on top of the salad or maybe a chicken salad but it was just the dressing and equally as bad as it looked. But the big issue is that I forgot to warn Christina that the shrimp might come whole. I wish I had taken a picture when they set the plate of 10 shrimp eyes looking up at her on the table. She just smiled and said it was fine then tried to cover the heads with the carrots that came on the side. She played with them a little but finally gave up. I think they were overcooked because she really couldn’t even get the tail meat out of the shell. My lasagna looked normal but it wasn’t very good. It was basically just the meat sauce and no cheese which was sad. the bottle of wine was the highlight of the dinner and it was nothing special. This was also the most expensive meal we have had by close to $50. We will have to pay more attention here in Florence to avoid a repeat of last night.

We picked up some dessert and headed back to our apartment to hear the alarm ringing as we climbed the stairs. I reached back out to the host who did not respond so I had to contact airB&B which took sometime to get someone who spoke English. He reached out to the host and I guess he took his call and told him she thought it had been fixed. I don’t think anyone came in the apartment the ladder we had tried to use was still out and surely they would have put it away. She then messaged me and said it only needed a reset so I just needed to pop the breaker which was conveniently located by the front door. This worked and the beeping stopped. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me that in the afternoon. It could have been fixed quickly and not near as frustrating. But in the end the apartment is in a great location has plenty of room so all is good. Now if only we could get the heat to work.