Florence

Well, we made it to Florence. It’s quite an experience to sit on the Eurostar, listen to Maria Callas, and watch the Italian hillsides going by at warp-speed. Amazing. We woke up yesterday morning and hopped in a taxi with our luggage… all of it. We will both admit that we over-pack. Depending on the item, one of us always thinks that we need to bring more of whatever piece of clothing it is. Seeing as how we are on vacation for 3 weeks, we have really overdone it. Since being here we have added 4 pairs of shoes to carry around, making it a total of 14 pairs. Totally necessary… especially since both of us pretty much wear the same pair every day.

We are staying at the Westin Excelsior. It’s an old palace overlooking the river that they have turned into a hotel. It's been a really comfortable stay so far, thanks in part to everyone speaking perfect English. I'm loving the bed in our room as well. We can both sleep spread-eagle and not even be jolted by a single icy toe.


The city is absolutley beautiful. It's a lot smaller than Rome and it feels much more quaint. It is still swarming with tourists but it doesn't feel as busy for whatever reason. Here is the view from the Giotto tower that we climbed... yes, another bloody tower. Good Lord, Europe is full of them and we always seem to think it's a good idea until about the 300th step. This particular tower's stairwells are about 2 feet across with people going up and down at the same time... excellent for trying to squeeze my fat ass by another North American's fat ass every 3 seconds or so.


And with the many towers are many statues... to be honest, it doesn't really get old. As you walk, you stop noticing them once and awhile but when you actually take a look and realize that someone chipped this massive piece of art out of a rock, it's awe inspiring. In one of the main city squares, there is a gallery with massive works. We decided to take a picture of the statue David... it's a copy but we know that pictures are not allowed in the museum that houses the original.


This is site most associated with Florence... the Duomo. Wouldn't you know it, you can climb to the top! Maybe we'll get there today. We have a reservation at the Uffizi museum in about an hour. Supposedly it is the museum of museum for art lovers... I wonder if there will be any paintings of Jesus... I've been trying to find a depiction of the crucifiction but I just haven't been able to find one.


This is also a famous attraction in Florence. It's called Ponte Vecchio, a bridge covered with shops. For the most part, they are all jewelery shops... we thought we'd be able to find something cheap... some real bargains. We thought wrong. Things are very expensive. Oh well.

O.k., we've got to run. Hope you are all well. Bye for now!