So here we are back in Florence , Italy. For those of you who don't know this is where Danielle and I met three years ago. We were doing a study abroad course and shared an apartment for a month here in Florence. So we are excited to see old friends and visit our favorite places.

Before I talk about Florence I'll give you the highlights and lowlights since Palermo.We left Palermo for mainland Italy on a night train. We knew this wouldn't be great but what we didn't expect was 10 hours in a small train compartment with four other people, no air conditioning, intense heat, no food or water, and no sleep. The one highlight of the night train was when we got to the end of Sicily they rolled our train right onto a boat to take us over to mainland Italy. We got a cool thirty minute break before we were forced back to the sweatbox. We were excited to be arriving in the more relaxing portion of our trip. We took a boat on the first leg of our trip up the Amalfi coast from Salerno to Amalfi city. The views were wonderful and towns were so cute hanging on there cliffs. We walked around Amafi for a few hours and picked up a picnic lunch from a local store. Next we took a bus ride from Amalfi to Positano that was like Mr. Toads wild ride. These must be the most skilled bus drivers on earth.We were sped alond the edge of cliffs and around hairpin curves so fast we had to clutch our seats to stay in them. This was not the ride for anyone with a weak stomach. We arrived safe and sound and rolled down the hill until we found a place to stay. We were ushered to our room which was just big enough to fit us and our bags but the view made up for the lack of space. We headed straight to the beach, which was down 348 stairs. We relaxed in the water and napped in the sun. Later on after dinner we sat on our balcony drinking wine and enjoying the view. The next day we took a bus to Sorrento where we walked around the shops and did a little lemoncello tasting in a lemon grove. The next morning we were up early and on our way to Florence.

Our first couple nights we stayed with the grandmotherly Marcella in her house where she rents out rooms. She made us feel like we were family. During the day we have visited our favorite sites, shopped, and visited with our friend Hakam who works in the market. We had dinner at Nuti's where the same waiters are working and the food and wine are just as good as we remembered. Today we hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo for beautiful views looking out over the city.

Now it is our last night in Florence before heading off to the Cinque Terre tommorrow and we are sad to be leaving but excited to be seeing someplace new. We hope you are enjoying the pictures. We've been trying to download videos but that isn't working out so well. Until next time....ciao!