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Chunnel  
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We hike up 463 stairs of the Duomo for a view of the city and the Campnile.

And when our train arrives in Florence twice (more on that later), we always find ourselves asking "Is this Florence" which the locals must find amusing - like asking "Is this New York?".

In one of the wars in Florence, an enemy general almost destroyed Ponte Vecchio during the war, but it was so cool he decided to save it.

FOOD:  We have some of our best Italian food in Florence. And yes, real Italian food is much better than the stuff we get in the States.  Every time we order something off the menu, it looks familiar, but tastes MUCH better.  Here's what we find out by ordering food we think we know:

• Pizza - Italian pizza crust is lighter, thinner.  Proscuitto and mushrooms are common toppings.  Usually doesn't include tomato sauce - that's almost like another topping, far as we can tell.
• Calzone - lighter crust, no ricotta cheese.
• Pastas - fresh pasta, not swimming in heavy sauces; sauces seem to be premixed into the pasta.
• Wine - sweet wine is sweeter, fuller. 

Next stop: Cinque Terre

View of the Palazzo Vecchio from the Uffizi museum.  We see the Primavera and Birth of Venus in the Uffizi.