firenze

florence - a beautiful city but easy to get lost. can always find ur way back but i searched for the entrance to the botanical garden and walked around the blocks that it was encompassed in but i never did find the entrance. also came across other people who looked puzzled - i'm sure they were looking for the entrance as well. so no pix of flora. did stumble upon other places i wanted to see. frankly though it was sooooooo hot!!!! i was sick after roma - sore throat and a cough so i wasn't feeling up to waiting on long lines. unlike paris where the lines were long and moved quickly, well florence they just weren't that organized. the lines seemed to standstill. as a result i only went to a couple of museums where the lines were "short" but nonetheless it seemed that i stood on them for quite a long time. my fabulous little suitcase could no longer handle the trip and broke for good - the wheel cracked and that was that. so new luggage for me.

although i really wasn't in the market for any more stuff. florence has many many outdoor markets with leather, hand-painted ceramics and more. not just the cheesy imitation handbag dudes found most everywhere else.