we met max, cris, and fedi in the square of stroncone right away in the morning...it was very foggy, so we delayed our trip for a little bit.
it was about a 2 hour trip to florence, so off and on the kids would fall asleep. i tried to see as much of the countryside as possible, but with the thick thick fog, it was nearly impossible. as we got into the tuscan region it was interesting to see the house architecture and colors change from that of the umbria region.
in the tuscan region, homes were built of brick vs. the stone that the homes of the umbria region. you see more yards with grapevines...even tho it's winter here, the vines are still beautiful...so twisted and gnarled.
fedi was VERY excited when max said we would stop at autogrill...italy's version of fast food...but is slow food. what that means is that it is good food, much healthier for you, is still convenient...but perhaps not AS fast. pannini, pizza, other incredible foods...prepared in front of you...quickly....and oh so good! i wish we had an autogrill, i'd gladly trade our mcdonalds in for it!!
we reached firenze shortly after lunch. wendy and franco, the owners of our house in stroncone, were kind enough to get us into a bed and breakfast in the center of firenze. after checking in, off we were to their home. wendy and franco have a stunning home on the top of a building that allows them a view of firenze like no other. along with having a beautiful home, they have 2 absolutely wonderful children, uri and karina. uri and karina are a couple of years older than kyle and carlee, but it didn't seem to matter. carlee was ecstatic to have another little girl to play with, and before long, the makeup was out, hair was being done...and it was girl heaven. kyle, uri, and fedi soon were being typical boys...running, chasing, and playing playstation.
we were able to drag kyle, fedi, and carlee off to the academia to see michelangelo's david. what an incredible incredible piece of art...i cannot imagine the talent it took to create it. wendy shared with us that michelangelo created it from a piece of marble that had sat for quite a period of time because it had a crack in it. in order for michelangelo to carve the david, meant he had to work from the top left to the lower right of the marble, therefore not carving david from top to bottom, but instead in a diagonal. i can't even wrap my mind around how difficult that would have been!
we were unable to take any pictures in there...so, you will have to 'google' michelangelo's david if you are interested in seeing the sculpture. i did have to laugh...carlee has seen the david on spongebob...and when she saw it in person her mouth fell open in amazement, and then she asked 'where is his clamshell?!' to cover his, uhm, parts...i could only laugh.
franco took the adults on a tour of more of firenze as night came, and wendy took the kids back to their home. franco is a wonderful tour guide, having grown up in firenze his entire life. we went to the piazza signoria, ponte di vecchio, and so many other wonderful places. i honestly think that firenze is my favorite city so far...at least for the cultural elements. to think, that the renaissance masters studied here...stood in the piazza, walked these streets...created, dreamed, discussed and argued ideas and concepts here....aaahhhh...i think i am in love.
then back to wendy and franco's for an INCREDIBLE meal...wendy is such a wonderful chef and hostess! i do not like to cook, but, the dessert that wendy shared with us was amazing, and i will have to contact her for the recipe, as kyle has asked numerous times now if i would/could make that once we get back home.
we didn't go to many of the museums with the kids, as the paintings and things really didn't interest them all that much. it was best to travel the city on foot and see, experience, and learn, and so that is what we did on sunday...
h, k, c
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