Florence

Our second stop was Florence, where we spent three nights. We did some pretty good Expedia sleuthing and found a hotel within sight of the Duomo, which meant it was also close to the Uffizi and Academia. Casie was on the ball and got advanced tickets for the Uffizi, which we'd highly recommend because otherwise you can spend all day in line.

Despite the crowds, Florence was one of our favorite places. We had 1 or 2 of the best meals in our lives in some of the restaurants that have tables out in the courtyards. We managed to get through about a bottle of wine a night (I think that was our average for the whole trip, actually) which made the walk back to the hotel interesting! And, in all honesty, the quality of the art cannot be overstated. If you're into Italian renaissance art, it doesn't get much better than the Uffizi. And if you like sculpture, the David is really something you have to see at some point in your life. We just sat and stared at it for about 20 minutes without saying anything.

We also went on a walk in the hills above Florence and, despite getting pretty lost, had a great time and saw some awesome countryside.

Next stop... Sienna!