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Day 18: Monday, July 27, 1998
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I woke up this morning to thunderstorms and rain. I quickly grabbed my drying clothes, leaving Dave and Sam's stuff out. Later, I realized how selfish that was of me. My only excuse was that I was half asleep when
I was taking action. We started off to check the Youth Hostel for open rooms at about 9:45 AM. Dave, Eric, and Sam all started running due to the rain. I walked due to the cuts on my feet (a result of the new
sandals I was wearing). So I walked in the rain, got wet, but I was wearing my bathing suit and windbreaker
only, so it wasn't that bad. We returned after an hour. There were no rooms available for the next two nights. Sam cooked some scrambled eggs with onions and peppers. The eggs were noticeably better than what
we had been getting at the hostels. We also learned that we were getting kicked out of our bungalow as soon as the next people (with reservations) arrived. We left around 1:30 PM.
After much debate, we decided to leave Como all together due to the bad weather. It was neat to see the
clouds descend upon the mountains, and hear the echoing thunder, but our lack of suitable accommodations was problematic. Bill decided he wanted to go his own way for awhile, starting with a ferry ride back to
Como rather than a bus ride. Eric confirmed his reservation to leave for home on Sunday, August 2nd. Though Bill plans to meet up with us on August 5th in Nice,France at noon by the Information booth in the
train station, it still seems like the group is splintering quickly. Part of it is that Bill didn't go to ColgateUniversity, and there is something weird about the relationship he has with our group. Though for the
most part, everyone seems to get along, trouble comes when we are traveling or trying to decide on anything (dinner/food comes to mind first). Though traveling alone has its benefits (meet people more easily, more
freedom), it must also have drawbacks such as being more expensive. If there is a point where we all go our own way, I'd probably go back to Venice and Amsterdam.
Today I had to throw out my only three pairs of underwear. The reason for this drastic, yet necessary, move
was to keep the rest of my clothes from gaining the alien stink strain. Though I washed everything affected (socks, undies, bandana), I couldn't kill the funkiness. I'm hoping to buy some bleach at my earliest
convenience. If that doesn't work, I might have to consider getting new socks. The biggest problem is the way the stink spreads to other clothes within my bag.
So were on a train to Florence right now (minus Bill). I finally tended to my feet today. I only have one
blister, and it isn't bothering me. What is bothersome are my two sandal friction cuts which I bandaged. I'm also on my last role of toilet paper. This problem is due to my cold, which hasn't improved much since
Venezia. We arrived in Florence around 9:30 PM. We immediately left the station and went to a hotel that had approached us at the station. The guy and his dog were nice, but his wife (I assume) was talking to
herself while she made up the extra beds. She seemed kind of scary.
Since we had found lodging early, we walked around the city for awhile. We stopped for a late dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the Piazza de Santa Maria Novella. My seat at the table (on the sidewalk) provided a
perfect view of the church facade on a cool, clear night. It really was beautiful. After our inexpensive dinner, we went down to the Duomo. The ornate and colorful Baptistery, Church, and Campanile surprised me.
The buildings were so rich in colored marble (green, pink, white) patterns, and sculpture. I was also shocked to see a whole lot of people sitting on the front stairs of the church. On the way back to our hotel, I
stopped at a gelateria, and ended up paying 15,000 lire ($7) for a four scoop cone. This was definitely one of the bigger mistakes (money wise) I've made. Then, we went to bed to the loud, LOUD sounds of
scooters and trucks. We have a shower in one corner of the room. The room itself is the nicest we've been
in: colorful tile floor, large open window, and high ceiling. The hotel we are in (like most of the buildings in Florence) is a former palazzo.
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