Day 21: Thursday, July 30, 1998 This morning I woke up to find the hostel had screwed me on accommodations. Instead of giving me a 24,000 lire dorm bed, they stuck me in a 35,000 lire four person room (that actually had five people). The result is a difference of 22,000 lire for the two nights. I plan on avoiding this type of mistake again by paying one night at a time, and asking for the cheapest price/room/bed. My first night without the guys was fine. I drank with the other people in my room (1 American, 1 Italian, 1 English) and a girl from Mexico City. She was really nice, but attached.

The lockout of the hostel for 3 1/2 hours kind of sucks. I went to the Medici Chapels where somehow, I missed the Old Sacristy. The new sacristy (main room) housed the giant marble tombs of the Medicis. The marble designs were amazingly complex and intricate. There were also dozens of reliquaries with bone fragments, etc. in them. From there, I went and bought "Let's Go Europe" at an international bookstore across from the Medici Palace. This book is much better for hostellers than Frommers. Actually, it just seems to have more information on more cities. I finished my Florentine attractions with a trip to the Galleria d'Accademia where I got to see the original "David" by Michelangelo. The sculpture was definitely large, and a good representation of the male physique.

Now I'm sitting on the steps of the Duomo once again. When the shadow disappears, I'm going to return to the hostel, and take a second look at the "Trinity" in Santa Maria Novella. Last night I called home for the first time. I spoke to my Dad (Mom was away) for about ten minutes, telling him my itinerary, and how my group broke apart. When the sun drove me away fro the Piazza della Signoria, I walked down to the bridge with the shops on it, which all turned out to be jewelry stores. Then I went to the Palazzo Vecchio and sat in the sculpture garden for awhile. When the hostel re-opened, I tried calling a pension in Rome for reservations. They didn't take them, so I figured if I can make the 8:30 AM train I should be fine. The "Let's Go" book is already proving more useful than Frommer's. I am currently trying to figure out my financial situation. Right now, I'm over budget per week. For this reason, I'm going to try and cut out some sight seeing and eating at restaurants. I also have to get out of Italy. Therefore, I'm not going down to Naples or Pompeii. Instead, I'm going to Rome to see the essentials, and then back to Venice for a couple of days. After that, I'll head towards Spain. I've noticed that I have blisters on my toes, but they haven't started to bother me yet. I just wish I could get rid of my cold.

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