Today was my last day in Tuscany and, thankfully, I was a bit less fuzzy today. It is never fun to get sick on a trip.

On the agenda today was Florence with the hope that I would get to the city in time to see some of the Easter celebration at the Duomo. After some small difficulty with parking I did actually manage to get near the Duomo in time.

For several hundred years the people of Florence have been setting off a cart laced with fireworks as part of their Easter Day celebrations. This is, apparently, the thing to do on Easter Sunday as there was a veritable sea of people in the streets leading to the Duomo. Packed in chest to back and elbow to elbow, everyone waits in hushed irritation for the cart to be lit. When it finally happens you count yourself lucky to see much of anything through the forest of cellphones and cameras rising up from the herd underneath. The cart itself is mostly enshrouded in smoke with bits of flame shooting out and the occasional shriek as smaller fireworks launch into the air. When it’s finally over I’m pretty sure you can just lift your feet up and be carried back down the street by the rush of people looking to leave. I’m glad I made it in time but I’m not sure I could do it again. Far too many people in one small space.

I had been looking forward to visiting some of the museums for free today but it seemed like everyone else had the same idea much earlier than I. The wait for the most popular was around three hours long. I like some art but not that much. So I spent the rest of the day split between walking the sights and hunting for elusive public restrooms. I pretty sure the latter should be a sport or a university degree for the effort needed to find them.

With a final gelato I was ready to say goodbye to Florence and the throngs of tourists clogging her streets. I was really not ready for the hike back up to where I parked; I really need to find parking much closer to the center or at least not at a city overlook.

Early tomorrow I will be taking an early train off to Venice and finally say goodbye to my rental car. Hopefully my shoes and feet can survive the rest of the trip and what I will ask of them!