Buongiorno!

Next we were off to Florence. Italy felt the homiest to me. I loved every second of it! The coach ride to Florence was the longest of the trip. But the company always makes the ride go by fast.
Sidebar- the rest stops in Italy are wayyyyyy better than any fast food we have here! Toasted sandwiches, pizza, pasta, etc. on the go!

But when we arrived we checked into our hotel and got our new roommates. Mine was the ever-so-charming, Desiree LaVecchia. We had a pretty sweet room with an extra bed and a balcony. (Good thing about the bed too, right Christine?) Anyways, that night we got ready for a nice casual dinner at a local gem. We had the whole basement room to ourselves. And provided the bottomless bottles of wine its a good thing because we got a little loud by the end of dinner. Which, dinner was delicious- assorted meats, spaghetti as well as pasta shells with pesto (my favorite). The meal was topped off nicely with a shot of lemon cello provided by our much adored, Ryno.
After dinner we headed over to The Red Garter. It was a bar with a Karaoke Stage in the back. I never thought Karaoke was so fun before this trip. I personally didn't get up there, but some fellow travelers can definitely put on a good show. I really liked how it was set up too, there was an upstairs with tables that over looked the dance floor and the stage. Oh and our first drink was free- that was cool too. I didn't stay out late though, I caught the coach back to the hotel with a few other girls because I thought I had lost my passport, so I wanted to look for it good before I declared it lost forever. Another praise to Ryan though, I told him before dinner if it hadn't fallen out on the coach it might be lost. When it wasn't on the coach I got a little nervous, but Ryan (tour manager) was all over trying to get in contact with the last hotel to see if they had found it and thinking of what we needed to do the next day if worst came to worst. He was so great, he never made me feel like he forgot about my problem and he was so knowledgeable about how to solve it. Luckily- I found my passport when I got back to my room! I happen to put it in a weird pocket of my suitcase that I didn't realize was there. I don't remember putting it there, but regardless- I was so excited I ran to Ryno's room to tell him! We hugged and my almost tragedy was over! Shortly after, my roomie and others came back from the bar and we stayed up late just chatting and telling stories. We had an unexpected visit from a fellow traveler who was in his boxers too- but that's one for another time.

The next day we ventured into the heart of Florence. Everything was so beautiful. We went on a walking tour for the first hour, and learned about some statues and history. The tour was given by a local woman who really knew her stuff. See, Ryno couldn't give us the tour because in Florence they have such great pride for their city and its history, that it's actually illegal for any outside company to give a guided tour. I thought that was really cool, I personally have always taken pride in where I come from too. I think that kind of thing is important.

So after that, it was up to us to explore again! First things first- Gelato. Liz, Brittany, Christa and I all grabbed different flavors and tried each others. I got pineapple. Heavenly. Then for the rest of the afternoon we walked through the cobble stone streets checking out the shops. We also went to a leather demonstration. They told us the secrets about how to tell if something is real leather and showed us how they made these amazing leather jewelry boxes out of complete leather- no hinges or anything! I also bought a nomination bracelet there with all of the charms for the different countries that we were traveling too. Then we met back up with everyone and walked back to the coach.

One thing we were warned of was the drivers. Ryno: You have to look them in the eye before you cross the street, stare them down, that's the only way they'll stop. Carly was just too nice and got hit by a car! Well, it only managed to hit her arm and she was fine luckily! But still a lesson to be learned there I think.

That night in Florence we enjoyed a delicious meal at this pretty restaurant on a hill. We were in this large dinning hall and were joined by other Contiki travelers. There was also traditional Italian music being played while we ate. Oh and of course the chicken dance. See, in Europe when a place sees a bunch of Americans they think that all we want to do is dance the chicken dance. Not true Europe, sorry. By the end of the trip we couldn't help but find it funny and some of us always graciously danced for their enjoyment and maybe a bit of or own.

After dinner we all jumped on the coach and headed over to the much anticipated Space Electronic Discoteque!!! Then Ryno put on our Day song and the coach turned into a party bus! It was so exciting! Everyone just started dancing and singing along! Then we finally arrived at this great club with a bar and more karaoke on the first floor. We were also introduced to Gigi, the bartender, who if you slipped him five Euro would make you drinks a little stronger for the rest of the night. Then if you went to the second floor there was a huge dance floor, with florescent lights and video screens everywhere. Also if you went up the Cinderella staircase into the glass room over looking the dance floor that's where you could find us, in the VIP room! Kyle we love you. He rented the room for our tour and it made the night-as Frank might say- unbelievable. Ahhh life is a highway, I'm going to ride it all night long!