Ciao Roma, Ciao Florence

It was our last day in Rome. We booked a late afternoon train to Florence, so we still have the morning to explore Rome some more. There were still a lot more interesting old things to see in Rome, but clearly Drake had no interest. The poor little guy who had been spending a lot time in a stroller needed some nature and a place to run free. Monte Mario was a short metro ride outside of Rome and sounded like it would provide a nice hike and a good view of the city.

We took A Line and got off at Cipro station. After walking north about 10 minutes,we were at the foot of Monte Mario. Going uphill wasn't too bad since it was just a gradual windy road. About half way up we could no longer continue, road construction had blocked the road going up. We still were able to have a nice view of the city but no where to sit or relax and most of all nowhere for Drake to run free amongst the construction material laying around.

Disappointed we headed downhill. I'm sure there must've been another way to the top of the hill. But without a car, we were out of luck finding another route. To make ourselves feel better, we had to have a pre-lunch gelato.

We made our way back to Rome on the metro in time to figure out what to have for lunch. Did I mention I was a bit tired of the same Italian food? We opted for McDonalds. Now I got why hubby had to have KFC when we were in China.

We picked up our bags from our hotel and headed for Roma Termini again to catch our regional train to Firenze aka Florence. There was no Frecciarossa train (which we assumed was the fast train) available during the time we wanted. The regional train didn't allow us to pick seats, we were a bit nervous about how dog-eat-dog this was gonna get. Despite our two large backpacks, two day packs, one food bag, and one stroller with a toddler in it, it turned out to be pretty easy. There were plenty of empty seats so we took up 4 seats without feeling too bad. Drake was antsy like any toddler. He wanted to explore constantly. It was tiring trying to make sure he didn't dig too far into the garbage can, bang his head on the metal chair, or pull on stranger's bags. Normally Drake is not allowed to watch TV or any electronic devices. But in this case, we had to pull all the stops and calm him with some technology.

A hour and half later we arrived in Firenze SMN station. It was still early. We decided to take the bus to get to our hotel. We found the #13 bus just outside the station and hopped on. But we couldn't figure out where to buy the bus tickets and all the bus driver said to us was to buy them at a store. We had to get off the bus while I go running around the train station looking for a place to buy tickets. It turned out that tickets (1.20e each) were sold at any newspaper stand.  I rushed back to the stop in time for us to catch the next #13 bus.

A 20 minute ride dropped us off across the street from Miltontre Guest House. Miltontre had no elevator and was located on the 4th floor. Our host showed us our room and recommended a restaurant called Tito for dinner.

We settled in and set up Drake's crib before we ventured out to the town centre which was about a 15 minute walk. We found Tito no problem using the CityMaps2Go app. We were early to arrive just when they opened and they gave us a table without a reservation. A typical restaurant here, the front of it looked small and intimate. Then a hallway led to the back revealed a spacious brick room with 10 foot ceiling.

We ordered brusatta with home made anchovies to start. It was oily, but very yummy. The 4e half litre house red wine kept Greg very happy too. For main, I went with the meatballs. I tried really hard to like this dish but it was way too salty. Not even Drake could stomach more than 3 bites. He was more content with the bread and flirting with the waitress who gave him a big piece of biscotti after dinner.

After dinner we strolled back to Miltontre and tucked in for the night.

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