Florence was the one place that I was most excited about visiting, so my free time today was the most precious of the entire trip. I started early at the train station near our hotel and picked up a bus pass for the day - my knee seemed to be holding up, but I was still coddling it when I could.  I only had to cross the street to catch a bus that took me right to the San Marco Museum.  There was so much more to see besides the monk's cells, I stayed longer than I had planned.  Another short bus ride, and I was only a few blocks away from the Santa Croce Church, where I stopped at Michelangelo's tomb to thank him for all his beautiful works of art.

 

Now on foot, the Bargello was my next stop:  I had really under-estimated how much time I would need here.  Besides all the well known sculptures that I expected to see, the variety of art here had me captivated.  A quick cannoli break, and I was on my way to be awed at the Baptistry, and then across the way to the Duomo and BruneIleschi's dome.  Whew - I made it to our group meeting place at the Loggia with 15 minutes to spare - what an adventure so far! Our more relaxed tour of the Uffizi with local guide Ricardo put my day over the top: what a magnificent collection of art in one place.

 

There was one more place I hoped to squeeze in - San Miniato.  If I hustled, I might make it before they closed at seven.  Traffic going up towards Piazzale Michelangelo was moving very slow, and the bus arrived 5 minutes too late - bummer.  When I turned to leave, all disappointment melted when I saw the sunset turn all pink, purple and orange.  Then, as the lights of the city below began to twinkle on, all I could think was, "Wow, I made it, I'm actually in Florence, Italy!"