Day 21-462 Stairs, 463...

Stairs seem to have become a theme on this trip with Hannah and I, and the higher, the better. We arrived in Florence (Firenze), Italy last night around 10:30 pm on a train from Rome. We decided to take a chance and hop on the 8:30pm Eurostar train, which is faster and more luxorious (cookies AND juice?!) and also costs an additional 12 Euro on top of the Eurail pass that we bought. We didnt cough up the Euro, but got on the train anyway, hoping for the best. They came around and checked our tickets, and as nervous as I was, we got away with it.
From the train station we walked to the hostel we had chosen: booked. Great. They recommended the hotel next door, a clean, new 3-star facility that I figured was out of our budget, but we tried it and scored a 160 Euro room for 50 Euro. We are in heaven: four beds, privacy, quiet, our own CLEAN bathroom. Sweet deal, kind of makes me feel bad for the kids in the hostel next door.
We woke this morning and headed out, wandering the not-so-organized streets. We stumbled upon one of our destinations, the Duomo, or Dome. This cathedral has the third longest nave, rivaled by St. Peters in Rome and one in England. The dome is 100m (330 ft) high, and you can climb it via 463 dark, spiraling stone stairs. Of course we had to do this and after waiting in line and paying our 6 E, we started our ascent to Michelangelos Lantern, as it has been dubbed. The stairs take you to two tiers where viewing the domes painting is ideal, then finally, you arrive at the Cupola. This is the highest point in Florenze, and therefore has an amazing view of the city with its boardering mountains and many uniform burnt orange roofs topping butter-yellow buildings.
After the dome, we split a nice 4-course lunch and proceded to wander into a pastry shop and a chocolateria, both of which proved amazing.
We were exhausted and needed a recovery day, so after getting information on the Ufizzi Gallery and Accademia for tomorrow, we saw the Baptistrys Gates of Paradise (where Dante was baptized) and hopped on a bus to nowhere. We rode around, half asleep and afterwards went back to our fabulous hotel and napped.