On the Way to Florence

While it wasn't too, too terrible a day (or couple of days -- I feel like it took a few days what with the time change and loss of sleep), I am shooting for a positive outlook and hoping this was the worst day I'll have. I love to travel, but 20 hours of taxis, planes, and trains while lugging luggage isn't my favorite part.

Enough complaining, though. On the flight in, we could see the Costa Concordia out the window of the plane. It still is upside down and not very different than when I saw a picture of it in the news several months ago. Even from the air, it looks massive next to the island. I also saw the island of Corsica with it's beautiful snow-topped mountains, possibly Sardinia, and several other islands in the Mediterranean. The weather is very nice -- somewhere between 85-90F, sunny, and with a lot of humidity (which could be better, but ahh).

Here is a picture of me at the airport bar toasting my friend Dave on the embarking of our trip.

Also, here is a picture of our bikes on the train in the bike compartment en route to Florence from Rome. 

It took us several tries and several trains until we figured out how its done and which car you are supposed to be in with your bike.

Apparently, the train that goes from Rome to Florence that allows you to take your bike is a regional train that takes four hours, not the first class super speedy train. And, when a train that is supposed to go to Ancona breaks down, the same train we were taking gets very full and the conductor tells you to get on wherever you can and fast before the train leaves the station without you. Under these circumstances, we originally blocked a bathroom and several doorways from getting off the train and getting to another train (not intentionally -- there just wasn't any room), though that did not stop determined people from squeezing by and nearly hurting themselves on sharp pedals. I met some very nice people on the train who helped us figure out the logistics and where we needed to get off, etc. It was nice meeting them and hearing about where they were travelling, but it is so nice to be here to the hotel and showered! I look forward to a relaxing evening on the town.