Today was our final morning in Rome. Here are some pictures of what we saw walking around every day, things I haven’t included in other posts but that formed much of what we saw in the city: 

And the view from the condo we rented (VRBO, highly recommend.) 

We were about five blocks and one left turn from the Colosseum. This is what you saw when you took that left turn and started walking towards it: 

We thought about trying to squeeze in one more museum this morning before leaving around 11 AM, but we decided against that. No point in rushing something and possibly being late, and we’d seen everything on our list. We had already mostly packed our stuff the night before, so we woke up, got ready, found breakfast, and turned the keys over to the landlord before we headed off to Termini and boarded a train for Florence.

No, not that Florence.

This Florence.

Yes. Be stunned, because it’s that stunning.

But I gotta be honest, as gorgeous as that is, it was not the first thing on our minds after getting to our “home” in Florence. We wanted food. We needed food. I particularly wanted tea and protein. I had woken up that morning and thought, I’m hungry, and I’m in Italy, and this should not be.

So on our landlord’s recommendation, we headed off to Il Mercado Centrale. This is a huge market with two floors in a reclaimed warehouse. The first floor is an actual market, and was only open until 2 PM, which is when we got into Florence. The second floor, however, is a series of restaurants and cafes which are open much later (midnight.)

Tea, check. Travis got a macchiato, so we were both caffeinated. 

Ain’t no food porn like proscuitto still on the leg of the beast. 

Mmmm. Protein. Check. 

You can’t not eat at a place whose decor includes the words “BURP BURP BURP.” 

We did not actually get anything here, the lines were too long, and these aren’t my desserts of choice — but they are GORGEOUS. 

Naturally there’s also a culinary school here. 

With our bellies mostly full, at least for the time being, we headed out to walk around some more.

It’s hard, though not impossible, to avoid the Duomo in Florence. Not that you’d want to, but it’s like the mountains back home: if you’re feeling a bit turned around, just look for the dome, and you’ll have a better sense of direction. You can’t see it from every single point in the city, but it’s an easy landmark to pick out anywhere.

When you’re close up though, the detail on this building? Speechless.

We kept walking. I liked Rome and so far, I love Florence. It’s smaller, more accessible, flatter (thank God) and you can easily walk everywhere you want to go. It’s also not as intense as Rome — the people seem more laid back and there are art exhibit posters everywhere. The power of Rome, the art of Florence. I’m starting to prefer the Italian name for this city: Firenze.

We walked over the bridge that crosses the Arno river, which cuts through Florence:

We visited “Il Porcellino:”

And as we walked to dinner, we saw a statue with a bird on the guy’s head. That bird was king.