Today started early with a 7:10 bus to Florence. We were all up by 5:30 to catch the bus into town that would take us to Florence. On the whole, public transportation here is quite reliable and convenient. There are urban lines (all within Siena) and extra urban lines that take us to places like Florence, the coast, Volterra, and many others.

We arrived in Florence at around 8:45, where I had a delicious cornetto, the Italian crossaint, some of which have a filling of chocolate or fruit. Only .80 euro, not a bad cheap breakfast! I needed it today too with all of the walking and the extreme heat. Unlike Siena, Florence is flat and has no breeze! Mosquitoes, I am told, are rampant, and the air is very still.

The weather did not detract from the beautiful things we saw there. We started at the Baptistery, where we received an introduction to all three sets of doors, including Ghilbertti's famous Gates of Paradise. We also saw the campanile di Giotto(Bell Tower) and duomo from the outside during the beginning of our tour. From here, we did a walking tour of Florence where we saw where Dante grew up, including the courtyard where he would have played with fellow friends like Calvalcante di Cavalcanti, a man who shows up later in Circle 6 of the Arch-heretics!


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