The long trek home

The past couple of days have been pretty busy. I’ve walked over 43,000 steps, yet I’ve spent 13 hours traveling on trains and still managed those steps. I started yesterday morning with getting my Covid test (negative, thank you), then I closed up the condo and said goodbye to Campomarino Lido for 2021. I took a cab to Termoli, but got there way early. I thought I’d have an hour or so to walk around the city and grab a couple of small sandwiches for lunch. Trenitalia had other plans. I ended up having more than two hours thanks to delays.

Once on the train, I had my own two seats, a table, a power outlet, and free WiFi. It was a great train ride, just a little long. When we got in an hour late, I missed the train I planned on taking from the center of Milan to the airport where my hotel is. All in all, I was out of the house by 7 am, and checked into the hotel at 9 pm. I walked a lot in Termoli, and in the Milan train station to get my steps up.

Today, I took a quick train ride south to Florence. I love Florence, and the city didn’t disappoint. It seems that it is impossible to take a bad photo in Florence. I walked around the Duomo area, and then past the Academia, which is home to Michelangelo’s David. The line was crazy long, and I’ve seen it enough that I decided not to wait. I then went back past the Piazza Della Republica, and the Uffizi Gallery, the leather market, then to the Ponte Vecchio. I continued on and decided to walk around the Boboli Gardens. It’s truly a beautiful place to visit. Amazing views of the city and beautifully landscaped grounds welcome visitors from all over the world.

After walking the gardens, I started heading back and doing some souvenir shopping, and grabbed an early dinner. I made my way back across the Ponte Vecchio, through the leather mart, and to a restaurant in the Piazza Della Republica. My goal was to have a Florentine steak, which is a T-bone (really the way they describe it, it is a Porterhouse), and it is cooked rare to medium rare. This one arrived at the table cut off the bone, and it was delicious. Tender, flavorful, succulent, and abundant, the meat was the star of the menu. I even left with a doggie bag, since I wasn’t able to finish it.

Tomorrow I have a tour of Milan scheduled, and then hopefully an early bed time. My knees, ankles and feet are not happy with me right now.