Without meaning to, we ate at one of the guide book's recommended restaurants...and it was delicious!

The reason we didn't do our usual supermarket dinner was because we couldn't find a supermarket and we had an hour to spend before our Florence hostel "opened" so we could check in.

And what a hostel...the front door is unlocked, there are about six shared rooms, and the owner (or manager?) lives about an hour away...so it's pretty much just an apartment for backpackers like us who just need a clean place to shower, sleep, and leave our bags as we explore the city.
The whole process of getting the key to our room is too long to write on an iPod touch...

Florence is beautiful! The buildings have the age and facades of Venice minus the water and plus cars. We are excited about the museums where we will get to see famous Rennaissance art (not today because it's Monday and the museums are closed).

We've seen the huge Duomo, churches, Ponte Vecchio, other tourists, and statues in plazas.

Plus, it's a beautiful (and not too hot!) sunny day!