Our accommodation with Italian rail was, as expected, more like the American airplane experience than American rail. Our seats were reserved, adjustable, and equipped with a few channels of headphone music. A cart was pushed down the aisle at various intervals offering soft drinks and wine. Judie got a change to try some Prosecco, and rescued another American couple with some deft impomptu translation. The trip through the Italian countryside, including several tunnels, took a little less than three hours, with pehaps half a dozen stops, and deposited us in Florence, pretty close to the city center.
The guide/ride who met us in Florence was considerably less personable then in Venice. He met us bearing a sign with my first and last name reversed, asked us the name of the hotel, and then proceeded to wander to the car leaving us and the luggage to fend for ourselves. We were deposited at the hotel unceremoniously, and left at curbside with the luggage.
Hotel Piti Palace was a very contemporary renovation inside the shell of a not obviously medieval tower of about six stories. The hotel was across the streed from a glove store mentioned by Judie's sister (okay), which was next to a pastry store (!!!!!!!). The hotel was centrally located, had all the necessary conveniences, and was pretty much completely without character. In short, it is was exactly as described in the tour guide. After changing to a room with less of a cigarette smell, we settled in and the headed off to explore the city
Our route took us past numerousl gelato vendors, as well as jewelery and leather stores that Judie was interested in seeing, including one where you had to be buzzed into a third-floor (2nd to europeans) office/showroom. She identified one piece that she liked, and will consider returning for (but didn't).
By now it was starting to rain, so with our umbrellas safely tucked away in the hotel room, we dripped our way to the railroad station, the meeting place for our tour. Having found the spot, we worked our way back to the room, checking out a few restaurants on the way.
After a brief rest, which turned into a nap for me, we headed out for dinner. I hadn't realized how tired I was until we went out, and our plan for dinner turned into a slice of pizza for Judie and a bottle of aqua minerale for me, followed by an early nights sleep. I'll make it up to her tomorrow.