We took the Eurostar to Florence, which was a beautiful 90 min ride through some "mountains" - literally through several tunnels! When we arrived to pouring rain, we decided to take a taxi to our hotel, which was a harrowing 15 minute ride through narrow streets crammed with people, scooters, cars and busses. I wouldn't drive in Italy even on a scooter! After dropping off our luggage (in a pretty nice "Americanized" hotel with a large bathroom and a bath/shower combo), we decided to get lunch at one of the best pizza places in town. It lived up to its ratings...wow! Yum! We tried to get back there for dinner another night, but they weren't open until 7:30pm, which is too late for us to eat. Then we walked to the Duomo area (in the pouring rain with inadequate umbrellas) and looked around for awhile. The Duomo is the name of the famous dome in Florence that is in all the photos of the city (see below for a view from our hotel). The photo above is Sean and Mike is in front of the baptistry doors near the Duomo. The original doors are in a museum because they are made of pure gold. It took the artists years to create the doors, but I suspect they didn't last too long on the bapistry... The other photo above is the church in that area. It is so beautiful and ornate - usually churches are more ornate on the inside, but this one is gorgeous inside and out. We ended up geting Sean a new pair of shoes because his were so wet (we only brought one pair each to save room in the suitcase). We found a great pair of leather shoes for 10 euros (about $13). Darn my waterproof shoes!
The second day we went to the Uffizi Museum, which has lots of art from mainly Florence or Italian artists. We tried a new technique with Sean at this museum which worked really well (although we felt guilty about it)...we got him a wheelchair so he could sit and play his Leapster while we enjoyed the art. 2 hours of practically uninterrupted time to enjoy beautiful art!! Heavenly! We didn't do this again, but it was sure nice to not race through a museum and only see the highlights. After the museum we went to lunch on the other side of the river and I had the best Pasta e' Fugoli (pasta and bean soup) ever! Then we climbed up the bell tower near the Duomo to work off the lunch and the forthcoming gelato...
We took the Eurostar to Florence, which was a beautiful 90 min ride through some "mountains" - literally through several tunnels! When we arrived to pouring rain, we decided to take a taxi to our hotel, which was a harrowing 15 minute ride through narrow streets crammed with people, scooters, cars and busses. I wouldn't drive in Italy even on a scooter! After dropping off our luggage (in a pretty nice "Americanized" hotel with a large bathroom and a bath/shower combo), we decided to get lunch at one of the best pizza places in town. It lived up to its ratings...wow! Yum! We tried to get back there for dinner another night, but they weren't open until 7:30pm, which is too late for us to eat. Then we walked to the Duomo area (in the pouring rain with inadequate umbrellas) and looked around for awhile. The Duomo is the name of the famous dome in Florence that is in all the photos of the city (see below for a view from our hotel). The photo above is Sean and Mike is in front of the baptistry doors near the Duomo. The original doors are in a museum because they are made of pure gold. It took the artists years to create the doors, but I suspect they didn't last too long on the bapistry... The other photo above is the church in that area. It is so beautiful and ornate - usually churches are more ornate on the inside, but this one is gorgeous inside and out. We ended up geting Sean a new pair of shoes because his were so wet (we only brought one pair each to save room in the suitcase). We found a great pair of leather shoes for 10 euros (about $13). Darn my waterproof shoes! 
The second day we went to the Uffizi Museum, which has lots of art from mainly Florence or Italian artists. We tried a new technique with Sean at this museum which worked really well (although we felt guilty about it)...we got him a wheelchair so he could sit and play his Leapster while we enjoyed the art. 2 hours of practically uninterrupted time to enjoy beautiful art!! Heavenly! We didn't do this again, but it was sure nice to not race through a museum and only see the highlights. After the museum we went to lunch on the other side of the river and I had the best Pasta e' Fugoli (pasta and bean soup) ever! Then we climbed up the bell tower near the Duomo to work off the lunch and the forthcoming gelato...
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