Firenze!

(Firenze is Italian for Florence)

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day! It's been raining pretty much non-stop this whole trip, and while we won't let it get us too down, it would be great for those sweeping views and all day walks through cities to have it let up a little. We may get a little break next week in Rome, but it looks like it's cold and wet from here on out. C'est la vie, or whatever that is in Italian (I should really look that one up!).

On our our third and last day in Florence, we did finally get a break in the rain! It was a beautiful mild and sunny day. We saw Michaelangelo's David in dell'Accademia, and Galileo's tomb in Santa Croce.



The bad weather has kept Kerry's cold up full-force, but we still went out for a great Tuscan meal, and she commented that even though she couldn't taste very well, "at least it looked delicious". I had a wonderful meal starting with a duck meat sauce pasta, followed by a few perfectly cooked pieces of pork wrapped in the famous Tuscan lardo, which has a much milder flavor than bacon, but a buttery rich texture that keeps the meat moist and delicious.

Our bed and breakfast here in Firenze has been wonderful. It is a small charming place with a handful of rooms, and ever-present classical music. The decor is a mix of Florentine etchings and kid's art, which somehow works here, and the whole atmosphere is very comfortable and relaxing. The building the bed and breakfast is housed in reminded Kerry and I both of an old college building, in a good way. It is actually in the Swedish consulate building, which was pretty confusing when we first arrived and were trying to figure out if we were in the right place. It is a super-duper charming place, it definitely paid to do a lot of research in advance, (thanks Kerry!).

Overall Florence is much smaller than we expected, you can walk the whole city pretty easily. We expected Venice to be quite small, (and it was), but the size of Florence was a surprise, and a pleasant one given the lack of subway system here!

We are off to Rome in a few hours, it is Easter today, so things could get interesting with the crowds gathering there to hear the Pope's Easter announcement today. We learned our lesson in Paris to book our train in advance so at least we know we have seats on the train. More when we arrive!