We said goodbye to San Gimignano this morning and went to drop off our car in Florence.

The plan this morning was to spend a few hours in Florence before taking a train to Venice. We found our way to the parking garage with no real issues and then dropped off our big luggage at a storage locker so we could walk freely through the city.

I had been asked before why we weren’t going to spend much time in Florence on the trip. Once we started walking around they finally understood why. Florence is a city which means a lot more people. The other towns we went to were much more intimate and not nearly as crowded. There is still some neat stuff to see but I don’t recommend more than a day in Florence despite what the guide books say.

After a pleasant two hour ride we made our way into Venice. Where it promptly started to rain.

It wasn’t bad…at first. We managed to get onto a water bus and head towards our lodging for the next few nights. Just before we got off the bus, the deluge began. Rain sheeted straight down with enough force to almost make umbrellas useless. We hung out under a partial awning until it let up enough that the locals started moving about again.

Once we got into our lodging we rested a bit to dry off before a bite for dinner.

I got the pull out sofa as I’m only here for two nights. This also meant climbing three flights of narrow stairs with my luggage. What fun!

We dined at a place called Orient Experience that I had seen on Stanley Tucci’s show. We had all looked at the menu and agreed that it looked interesting enough to try. Everyone walked out stuffed.

After dinner we took a walk to digest and see the city lit up.

Venice is a unique city. So far, it is the only major Italian city I ever car to come back to. It is touristy but you just can’t find anyplace like it anywhere else.