300 km/h through the Italian countryside
Departure station. Grab cornetti and cappuccino at the station bar before boarding. The Frecciarossa platforms are well-signed.
Florence's main station. Steps from the historic center. The hotel is a 10-minute walk from here. No taxi needed.
The bridge lined with gold shops, dating to 1345. The only Florentine bridge the Nazis didn't destroy in WWII — allegedly because Hitler found it too beautiful. The Vasari Corridor runs above the shops.
Open-air sculpture gallery. Copy of Michelangelo's David stands here (the original is in the Accademia). Neptune Fountain, Loggia dei Lanzi with Cellini's Perseus. Free. Extraordinary.
Brunelleschi's dome — visible from everywhere in Florence. No internal framework, built with a double-shell herringbone brick pattern over 16 years. The engineering puzzle of the Renaissance.
Two-floor food market. Ground floor: fresh produce, meats, cheeses. Upper floor: food hall with individual vendor stalls — lampredotto, pasta, pizza, gelato. Lunch here.
The Frecciarossa leaves Roma Termini and within minutes you're doing 300 km/h through the Italian countryside. One hour and thirty-two minutes later you're in Florence. That's faster than driving to Fort Lauderdale from Boca, and you just crossed 170 miles of Tuscany.
Florence is compact. From the train station you can walk to the Duomo in 7 minutes, the Ponte Vecchio in 12, the Piazza della Signoria in 10. Drop bags at the hotel and start walking.
Afternoon: Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo exterior. The Baptistery doors (Ghiberti's 'Gates of Paradise' — Michelangelo named them). Mercato Centrale for lunch. Evening: bistecca alla fiorentina — a 3-pound T-bone steak grilled over chestnut wood. Ricki will be in heaven. Two nights here.
Near the Duomo or Santa Maria Novella
Florence is small — anywhere in the centro storico works. Budget €180–350/night for 2–3 rooms.
The Frecciarossa ETR 1000 train does 300 km/h (186 mph). Tilting technology lets it take curves at speed. Also: Brunelleschi's dome — 4 million bricks, no internal scaffold, herringbone pattern locks each ring in place.
Leather market shopping near San Lorenzo! Bags, journals, belts in every color. Plus the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica.
Florence is flat in the center and extremely walkable. The train from Rome is effortless — reserved seats, smooth as glass, bistro car for coffee. The Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria are all flat ground.