We left the hotel by shuttle and arrived at the train station around 8:15 to catch our 8:27 train to Naples. We waited in line, asked for tickets, pulled out a 100 Euro bill to pay, and hit our first brick wall. They didn't have change, they didn't accept credit cards, we were 2 Euro short with smaller bills, there was no ATM, and it was now 8:20. (Italy is Broken) Luckily, some middle aged ladies behind us saw our peril and gave us the 2 Euro. We got back in line, hearts racing, and watched the seconds tick by on the clock. Halfway through line, officials brought the ticket agent the change he didn't have before, but that didn't help our present situation. Jess reached the front at 8:24. She had tickets in hand at 8:26. We turned and raced through the turnstiles, around the tracks to platform 4, and made it on board roughly 15 seconds before the doors closed. Success.
In Naples, we almost missed our stop. We were told to get off at Stazione Centrale Napoli, the central station, and discovered just in time that the stop is named Napoli Garibaldi. We got off the train again just before then doors closed. We wound through the station and found a ticket booth... the wrong ticket booth. After being directed upstairs, we found the right spot, got in line, requested tickets to Florence and pulled out a credit card. The credit machine apparently wasn't working (Italy is Broken) and we were directed across the station to an ATM. The first ATM was out of cash (Italy is Broken) and the second refused my card (Italy is Broken), but Jess' card worked, and we were able to get the cash to buy our tickets. During this circus, we missed our train and had to wait an hour for the next. I chose to visit a bathroom and followed poorly placed signs to my goal, but it was out of service (Italy is Broken). I held it.
The train trip itself was relaxing, simple, and effortless, but nothing special. Once in Florence, we walked 15 minutes to our hotel, which is situated just off the Piazza de Duomo. Even with our bags, it wasn't terribly strenuous, and our room turned out to be pleasant surprise with stone flooring, a canopied bed, 20 foot tall wood-beamed ceilings, and a nice bathroom. As it turns out, the building is from the 14th or 15th century, which adds some historical flavor. That said, it often feels young compared to the relatively ancient, well historied buildings around us. That said, the real treat is its central location.
After settling in, we wandered through the city, visiting multiple piazzas, waking in some of the free churches, watching a flash mob of Italian college kids, seeing an Italian street drumming group play songs by Prince, and generally just enjoying Florence at its finest. We crossed the Porto Vecchio bridge and smiled at the shops that hang over it's sides, and eventually grew hungry enough to stop for dinner at Osteria del Porcellino, which was a very good choice. Jess started a caprese salad which she has eaten with every meal out, and followed it with a pesto gnocchi with toasted pine nuts and a sprinkle of parmesan. It was tremendous. I went with a panzanella soup to start followed by sea bass with tomatoes and onions in a thin layer of seasoned olive oil. Incredible. We washed it down with a bottle of Chianti Classico and decided it was our best meal of the trip.
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