Florence

Ah, Tuscany. Such a wonderful place!! We arrived around 4pm in Florence and still had plenty of time to walk around after checking in to our hotel. We stayed near the train station and all of the important sights were within walking distance. So we, along with about a million tourists of all varieties (many Americans), headed to the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and to see the statues in the Piazza del Signore.



On the way, we passed through Cararra - at first we thought there were glaciers and then we realized it was mountains of marble.




The next morning, we were ambitious and climbed up a hill over town for the nice views before the museums and churches were open for visitors. There were great views and a charming church at the top of the hill. Then, we headed down to see what there was to see. We started with Santa Croce, the final resting place of Michelangelo and Galileo (once he was allowed in by the Catholics).













Next, we tried to see the original David (having already seen 2 copies) but the line was just too long. So, we hit the museum at the Duomo, with part of the original facade and a fantastic unfinished Pieta by Michelangelo.





Of course, throughout our time in Italy we had many stops for the famous gelato. They just do not make it anywhere else like they make it in Italy. Wes would have even had it for breakfast if the shops were open that early.