Met for breakfast at 8:30 and planned our day. We decided the three things we had to accomplish today was to pick up the train tickets for our trip to Venice later today, see the statue of David and visit the Duomo.

First, first class tickets on the 2 hour fast train to Venice for the 2:30 departure. With that chore done, we walked the 8 blocks over to the Galleria dell’Accademia where the original statue of David resides. We arrived at around 10 am with some concerns about the possibility of a very long lineup that can be experienced from time to time. Found the entrance, walked right up to the ticket booth, bought our admission and were in David’s presence within a few short minutes. David is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture, created from 1501 to 1504 by Michelangelo. With a height of 5.17 metres (17 ft 0 in), the David was the first colossal marble statue made in the early modern period following classical antiquity. David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of twelve prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze), but was instead placed in the public square in front of the Palazzo della Signoria where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504. In 1873, the statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia, and in 1910 replaced at the original location by a replica. We enjoyed the museum with the sculptures, plaster castings and paintings for about an hour.

      
  
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From the Galleria dell’Accademia, we walked the few blocks down to the Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Flore. The Florence Cathedral was begun in 1296 and structurally completed by 1436. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white. The cathedral complex, in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. These three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic center of Florence. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches and the dome remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

      
      
      
      
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After walking the perimeter of the church bell tower, we wandered through the Piazza San Giovanni.

      
      
    
  
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From there it was off to the Galleria degli Uffizi, only because it’s the only place in all of Italy sister Denise hasn’t been. We didn’t enter because of time constraints. We then took a walk along the Arno on our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage.

      
      
      
      
      
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Had lunch in a quiet little restaurant just off the river. Four sandwiches, two plates of fries, three coke and one iced tea for a total of 70 euro.

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It was just after 1 pm by the time we finished lunch. From there we decided to walk down the Via de Tornabuoni which turned out to be the upper end of the shopping in Florence. Couldn’t afford the admission fees to enter some of these shops, never mind actually buying something. All the big names were represented, Gucci etc.

      
    
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We arrived back at our hotel by 1:30. Picked up our four bags from where our luggage was being stored and walked across the street to the station for our 2:30 train to Venice.

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We had four stops along the way; Bologna, Ferrara, Padova, and Venice Mestre arriving at Venice Santa Lucia station by 4:30. Walked out of the station and across the bridge on the Grand Canal to our Hotel Antiche Figure. Bit of a misunderstanding with the rooms. In the end though, Carole and LeVerne were upgraded to a deluxe room facing the canal. Very posh! Our room had a side street view (neighboring rooftops) but was very comfortable and modern regardless. After we had unpacked and settled in, we made our way down to the Ellsworth’s suite to relax and visit a bit before venturing out for dinner.

      
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On the recommendation of Anka, our hotel receptionist, we made our way over to a nearby restaurant, the Trattoria La Rosa dei Venti. We had fish dinners all the way around; Sea Bream for Lee and Sole for me. Very nice. At around 9 we made our way back to the Grand Canal then wandered around for a bit in the vicinity of our hotel.

    
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Back to the room by 10 and into bed by 11.