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Today the 3 of us really felt the lack of sleep from the plane ride when our alarms went off... We had a planned tour of Florence on Segways that we needed to be at in less than an hour. Jen asked me to snooze... But I already had and she didn't hear it! Don't worry... I quickly made coffee and those girls perked right up! It was off to tour the city on our Segways. Jen was not so sure that this was what she really wanted to do but she was a trooper and quickly got the hang of it.
Did you know that Florence was once the capital of Italy? That it has streets that date back to the Renaissance and medieval period? Their most famous buildings are made out of white and green marble and have red tops to reflect the colors of Italy? And that there is a secret passage that is longer than a kilometer between a few different castles?? So many fun things we learned!!!
We toured with a small group starting out going slowly because the streets are crowded and bumpy, and we didn't want to crash. We saw the major sights including the cathedral, the dome, Renaissance plaza, galleria de Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, and Santo Spirito. Yes, they are difficult to pronounce, and our nice tour guide smiled kindly as we would butcher them. They are so patient :)
I have to say that my favorite part of the tour was when we can across the market square where they have a giant, bronze pig at the front. He drips water from his mouth into a drain, signifying the greed of the market. Legend has it that if you place a penny on his tongue and it goes through the grate, then you will return to Florence. If it does not go into the grate and rather "bounces" out, you will not return. Jen gave it a whirl... And it did not even come close to going into the grate which resulted in our tour guide laughing hysterically while Jen left with a pouty lip. We only had one crash in our group where another tourist tried to take a corner too fast and ran into a curb... Going flying while her Segway proceeded to crash hard into a brick wall. She was ok, thankfully!
In the afternoon we had made reservations for the Galleria dell' Accademia where we saw the famous David statue by Michelangelo. I learned that this David statue was modeled after David and Goliath, and represented victory and independence many years later. He actually also has a rock and a sling carved in his hands and on his back, but I had never noticed that before! He was a really big statue... I never realized how large of a marble carving he actually is.
We ended the night by eating out and I are more pasta, risotto and bread. It's delicious and I am loving my fill of it. Definitely no shortage of carbs here and it's fantastic.
- comments
Paul Kri sta, This is so cool that you are sharing your experiences with us all. It is interesting to witness the cultures over there. Your pictures show the fun you are having. I have read this blog several times already. Jason and wiener 1 and wiener 2 were fun to have around. We went to Zorbas for lunch today, which of course ranks right up with seeing the Tower of Pizza and Michiel's naked statues with exposed parts that draw your eyes right to .......well, you know. Please write as often as you can. It connects us to you. Love, Dad