No new posts in the last couple days due to our trip to Florence over the weekend, where we lacked internet access. The train ride was all right, although it took about 4 hours since we took the "slow train." It was actually fairly speedy, but with (overly) frequent stops - the seats also didn't lean back at all, and leg room was limited. At any rate, upon arrival, we ate at a rather overpriced and underwhelming restaurant near the station, then accompanied Kate and Yuting to find their hotel. The room was rather humble and without air-conditioning, but it was fair for the price and they got checked in with no hitches. We then spent some time around the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, which is Florence's main cathedral and is famous, among other features, for Brunelleschi's magnificent dome. We then went to check into what we thought were our hotel rooms. Upon arriving at the people's office, we were dismayed when they started springing various unexpected fees on us, when we thought we had already payed the full amount online. They kept stressing that it was not a hotel, it was an apartment (in retrospect, it looks as though at least part of the fault lay with the booking website, and not them). However, it was beginning to smell increasingly fishy (at least to me), but even with the unexpected fees it would have worked out cheaper than the various hostels we had looked at, so we ended up all cramming (we thought) into the smaller of the two apartments we had initially rented and just paying the cancellation fee for the other apartment. Our annoyance evaporated, however, the moment we unlocked and opened the door to our apartment - it was enormous, so clean it could have been built yesterday, filled with beautiful modern fittings and appliances, and had ceilings of at least 15 or 20 feet. Even though it was only one bedroom, there was a futon and a couch in the living room. Our excitement was increased tenfold when we opened the tall wooden and glass doors out to the balcony - the balcony, to which we had exclusive access, was literally almost as big if not as big as the entire apartment, with a direct view to the Basilica, which was about a block away. It was only one floor up from street level, so we had perfect opportunities for people-watching in a district that was home to Prada, Gucci and Burberry (amongst others). While out there, we also noticed an air-conditioning unit on the balcony. Our first evening was taken fairly easy, with (quite basic) food and drinks at the apartment and a walk over to the river to watch the sunset from the bridge - a walk on which we discovered Duff beer in a small shop (one of a few versions that seem to be available). The amount of Simpson's goods here is outrageous.

My second day was devoted to walking around a large portion of the city, as well as a visit to Michelangelo's David and the surrounding museum (after over two hours standing in line in the 95 degree weather). We also climbed the tower adjacent to the Duomo, which while exhausting provided a commanding view of the entire city and surrounding hills - we could even see the very corner of our patio! We had hoped to visit the Church of Santa Maria Novella as well, but it closed at five, so we ate and then hopped the train back to Rome, getting back around 11:30 pm.

Items of note from the next couple days include a 4th of July dinner at Resat and Kathie's (beautiful) apartment in the Rome Center building (albeit on the 5th of the month). Anyway, it was catered (lasagna, salad, and small tarts for afterwords) and delicious. After some Uno, instigated by Melis, we headed out for gelato at Galateria del Teatro, which is officially the new spot. I opted (perhaps rather extravagantly considering the amount of food I had just consumed) for the 4-Euro cone with mango, sage & raspberry, and coconut, all of which were delicious (if unoriginal) choices.

Today we payed a visit to the Jewish museum, which included a guided tour of the museum and synagogues. The Great Synagogue was an exceptionally beautiful space, both inside and out, even if it wasn't particularly ancient, having been built in the early years of the 20th c.

The rest of the day was taken up with Resat's class, and an evening lecture, also by Resat, entitled "When Civilizations Meet: the Mediterranean over the Centuries."