 On Monday morning we returned to Athens International Airport for our return to Rome with ITA Airlines. We were still flying business class and after checking in, enjoyed the Lufthansa Business Lounge. It was smaller than the lounge in Rome, but had a wonderful buffet breakfast with a huge variety of cheese, meats, pastries, yogurts and other items. I even made myself a mimosa at the self serve bar. Sadly, this plane did not have the upgraded business class. We had regular seats, with limited leg room, but they do not sell the middle seat in business class where there are three seats across. They served another breakfast during the flight, finishing with a glass of limoncello.
We were traveling by train to Florence, and could have taken another 2nd train to the Roma Termini in Rome for the first leg. It cost more, but there were advantages to taking a taxi instead. When we arrived at the station, we booked our train to Firenze S. Maria Novella in Florence. There are multiple train companies, and on a YouTube recommendation, we went with Italo Treno, which had two trains leaving each hour. There are trains departing every 3 or 4 minutes and they do not post the track number until 10 minutes before departure, so it makes boarding a little hectic. We paid a little more for first class, which included assigned seats, and attendants who brought drinks and snacks. There were a few stops on the way, but the train travels up to 190 miles per hour. I enjoyed the views during the ride. Wifi was available, and almost necessary, because there are many tunnels on this route
In Florence, we stayed at a guest house, instead of a hotel. There was limited services and no breakfast, but we had a comfortable suite in a building which was built in 1640 and had a view of the Baptistery of San Giovanni and the cathedral. As I understand it, the baptistery was in a separate building, because the unbaptized could not enter the cathedral. I haven't mentioned this before, but the wifi was good everywhere we stayed during the trip. After checking in, we spent the evening walking through the interesting historic area, particularly enjoying the Ponte Vecchio which was built in 1345. Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge remaining in Florence with shops built on it, much like the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Although they were originally butcher shops, today jewelry shops dominate.
Supper was at one of the many steak restaurants Florence is known for. Ristorante dei Rossi Ponte Vecchio is a highly rated family restaurant, just a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio. The t-bone and ribeye steaks interested me, but were enormous, so I went with the filetto ai funghi porcini. The beef tenderloin came with a heavenly porcini mushroom sauce. Linda went with a spaghetti with clams and lime.
After dinner, we enjoyed crossing back over the river at dusk, when the colors were beautiful and particularly enjoyed the high quality music being performed on the streets and bridges. It was a lovely walk.
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