Firenze

Jane, Bob, Andy, and I all arrived in Florence (or Firenze in italian) at 1:30pm.  We separated to check in to our respective accommodations then met up to explore the city.  We walked along the river to check out the famous bridge and to get gelato.

For dinner we ate at Bocadama, which was suggested to us by my cousin Kat (Thank you Kat!).  The restaurant had tables and chairs set up outside on the side of Santa Croce piazza, the food was delicious, and the house wine excellent. At the end of dinner the four of us split a slice of apple cake and a slice of chocolate cake.

In the morning while the parents were on their walking tour, Andy and I went to climb the Duomo. Unfortunately, it's closed on Sundays and instead climbed the bell tower which was 414 steps.

Next we headed up to Michelangelo piazza on the other side of the river for more views of the city from a different angle.  It was a long walk and up even more stairs, but just look at the view:

We met up with Andy's parents and had sandwiches from a local shop before heading to the Galileo history of science museum.  There were lots of old scientific instruments ranging from the 1500's up through the 1800's (probably some newer ones too, but just to be conservative).  It was nice but not very entertaining.  We literally were just looking at instruments.  I was hoping for a more interactive museum.

Due to the amount of walking we all had done, we went back to the parent's hotel to rest before dinner which led to naps for a couple of us.  We headed back out to Santa Croce piazza to try another restaurant suggested to us by Kat (who happens to be related to the guy who owns the restaurant), Finestra (guessing at the spelling).  Dinner was again excellent with a glass of house wine.