Florence was wonderful--but how were we supposed to know that we made a reservation at the wrong hotel?

Here is the story: We arranged for three nights at the Hotel Accademia in Florence using the email address listed in the Lonely Planet guide. When we arrived at the hotel, after two train rides, we found out that we actually emailed the Hotel Accademia in Rome! The two hotels were very different in price, with the one in Florence being much nicer. After several tense moments, the staff cut us a huge deal and let us stay in their Accademia for a good price.

The sights of Florence didn't let us down either, the Uffizi Gallery was just full of beautiful paintings and classic works of art. We were able to head over to the Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David for a full day of art. The city had great food too and the gelato was delicious.

Both of us rubbed the bronze boar's nose, so we'll be sure to return to Florence.

From Florence, we took an hour and half bus ride to Colle Val D'Elsa. Colle is the home to our first Italian Servas hosts, Anna and her husband Giorgio and their college age son, Luigi. The town is between Florence and Siena and is just a beautiful and well preserved medieval town on top of a hillside. Giorgio is an architect, and does a lot of restoration work. Their house was from the 1400's and we think was originally a church. The house was several floors, all stonework. The house spanned a block from front to back, with the back being a great view of the Tuscan countryside. The town of Colle had lots of charm and all sorts of steep cobblestone streets and narrow lanes. During our full day in Colle we did little but explore the town and drink at a local cafe. At night, Anna cooked tasty dinners for us.