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First off, WE MADE IT! But before that, there were a few bumps in the road. Ok, maybe not "bumps" but some interesting things happened along the way. Lacey is apparently the problem child in Frankfurt, Germany airport. First off, she had water in her water bottle in security (say whaaa?! Not your first rodeo, rookie mistake). They immediately pulled her off to the side and confiscated her bag. The attendant carefully picked and prodded through... And found the bottle. He stood there and made her CHUG THE WHOLE THING! Like, "if that's poison, it's your own fault and you have to drink it" look on his face. He then decided that her makeup had "bomb powder" in it... And so did her iPad. So she got pulled into a giant room full of windows, where it was confirmed she did not have bomb powder in her make up. Next (same airport) they couldn't find Lacey in the system. Again, the problem child. Lastly, we landed (finally!) in Florence and Lacey's bag had been lost "en route". There she was... No luggage, a picked through bag, and a belly full of water. Alas.... her luggage got returned this morning. All is well, but she did sport an interesting outfit with her "courtesy" t-shirt they gave her at the airport.
Jen got her first experience with the Italian language at the money exchange center in the airport. Tired and hungry, when the man gave her the Euros, she stated "gracias!" And walked away... Completely unaware that that is Spanish and not Italian. Luckily the man was patient with her and just gave her a nice smile as Lacey and I proceeded to bust a gut in busy baggage claim.
First thing about Florence in the summer is it is H-O-T. We are staying at an Air BNB and it has air conditioning. We are lucky... The loft has amazing architecture and is right in city center. However, I was in this loft for less than 12 hours before I blew a fuse with a hairdryer. Good job Krista... I also blew an actual hairdryer up in Ireland last year. Maybe this is a sign telling me to stop drying my hair in Europe or something really bad is gonna happen. Like my hair will start on fire next...
Anyway, Our first stop today was climbing the looooong stair case across the river to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo. Beautiful from the top, and very windy as I'm sure you can tell from my picture :) it was a fantastic view of Florence, and that is where I also had my first experience with gelato. Let me tell ya, it was a great one. The guy even gave me some Italian lessons... Teaching me "chao" can mean "hello" or "goodbye", "arrivaderchi" means goodbye and it is more formal.
We then decided to check out the Pitti Palace where we spent more time outside in the gardens and toured a museum of history of women's fashion in Italy. This is where we got really sweaty. It's true, folks. So much that we all came back and showered AGAIN before lunch. It's supposed to be 100 tomorrow so this is only going to get worse.
We grabbed lunch at a cute little restaurant recommended by our host, Francesca. We are staying at an Air BNB and she has been so helpful and great... Leaving us wine, cookies, and coffee. It's almost all gone already... Can you tell we like the food and drink here?
Our afternoon was spent wandering the beautiful city. The streets are narrow. The buildings are historic and oh so picture perfect. The taxis drive fast. I almost got my foot ran over but Jen saved me. I need that foot for the next 6 weeks so I'm glad she interfered!
We spent the evening in Plazza Della Signoria where we dined on pizza and wine. There was a live band (like a full instrumental band) playing in the square which was really cool to see. We finished off the night with a group characature a that looks nothing like us but we love it anyway. Jen and I have matching shirts and Lacey isn't wearing a shirt. See picture for details. And I'll give you a dollar if you can guess who is who!
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Anne You blew another fuse?!? Oh girl... ;)