Florence

It's time to get back to Italy --

<<--center and heart of Florence--

While in Tuscany, we spent a full day in Florence, which is barely enough to scrape the surface of what there is to see and do there. It's a large city with an amazing history and full to the brim with art and architecture. Our day began at the Academia museum to see works of art from the Reneissance, including Michaelangelo's David. For me, this was one the highlights of our whole trip. I had anticipated seeing this work, but to stand there, with David towering over me, looking at the detail, the beauty of it was awesome. Unfortunately, no photos allowed, but we did see the "other" David that is on Michaelangelo's hill overlooking the city --

<<--I wish you could see the detail and color of the cathedral.. pink, green, and massive!

We visited the Duomo and Cathedral in the heart of the city. While planning our trip, we watched a video about the building of the Duomo and it made seeing it even more amazing. A dome within a dome -- an architectural marvel of the 1500's. It is massive as you can see in the pictures of the view of the city. The inside of the cathedral gives you the view of the frescoe painted on the dome. Beautiful. Matt and some of the students climbed the 300+ stairs to the top, giving them eye-to-eye views of the frescoe and then outside, a spectacular view of the city. For him, a defining moment of the trip.

<<---<

<<--the Duomo

<<--inside the Duomo

We visited the Santa Croce, a church that has hundreds of tombs within it, including those of Galileo, Dante, Rossini, and Michaelangelo himself.

<<--Michael waiting for us....wheelin' and dealin' on the cell. Outfit of the day: pink shirt, khaki linen, matching shoes-- all Diesel, all fabulous... ;)

As the day went on, the sites and the city became more and more crowded, and we were getting exhausted from our whirl-wind tour. We had a late lunch at a wood-fired pizza Trattatoria recommended by Michael. De-lish. And so cute! Then we had the afternoon to wander around, shop, etc. Florence has great shopping, lots of fun, though extremely expensive stores. They certainly have good taste. We unfortunately, couldn't afford most of them. We did run into the Foot Locker to pick up Amy some shoes that wouldn't rub her feet completely raw. Poor thing had quarter size blisters on her heels. Agony, pure agony. Spending $$ in the Foot Locker while in Florence, Italy was not her idea (nor would it be mine) of "shopping"... and it was decided that it didn't count as a "real" purchase. Even saying "Foot Locker" in a fake Italian accent (go ahead, try it...) didn't make it any better...

<<--our lunch spot. My favorite pizza of the trip. Yummy salad and wine that was cheaper than the water, yet completely wonderful. <<-- no, Amy didn't pick up this Valentino for the wedding, not because of price but because of trying to fit it in her suitcase. Yeah, right. <<--why don't we have fruit like this here in the US? One of the best suprises of the trip was the yummy fruit.

After the day that was jam packed, we had going back to the hotel and having dinner in the little white tent overlooking the Tuscan hills to look forward to ... if everyday ended with that food, wine and scenery ...

next Italy post: my favorite, favorite, favorite little town ... hint: it's a color of a Crayola crayon :)

Back in reality: We had a great day at 6 Flags with the kiddos. They rode coasters to their hearts content. The new ride, Tony Hawk's Big Spin was a hit and we rode it twice in a row. It's a roller coaster where the car with 4 people spins around as it goes on the track. Very cool.

<<-- somebody thinks he's a funny guy

<<--Jon Carter with Robin in front of the Batman ride. He was just tall enough to ride this year. It's the one where your feet dangle and it does upside down ... am I crazy to let my boy on that?? I can't even think about it! He loved it!!

<<--the Ninja, which I rode once, they rode 3 times. I'm game for most rides, but once is enough for me.

Today is a little cleaning and grocery shopping. It's so hot, something with water may have to be put on the schedule for this afternoon.