Day 2: Jet Lag & Getting the Lay of the Land

It's Christmas Eve, duckies!

H and I woke at 2.30 am, jetlagged but unable to go back to sleep.  She drew a bit while I checked my email, hoping that we'd both get tired and head back to sleep.  When it became clear that wasn't going to happen, we both headed out for a pre-dawn photo safari.  She brought her new camera (a Christmas gift from mama and daddy), and I brought a new soft-focus lens from Lensbaby.  We wandered Florence from 4-6am, chatting, watching the city sleep, and enjoying time with each other. 

Practicing framing

Ponte Vecchio at 4:30am is deserted

Exploring the Sundial at the Galileo Museum

We came home at 6 and snuggled for a while until we heard D/W/R stirring.  We went to play with them, and when 7am rolled around, the five of us headed out to Mercato Sant'Ambrogio, one of the food markets frequented by locals in Florence.  It was jammed full of meat, seafood, cheese, vegetables, spices, grains, sweets, and coffee!  Even outside, a bunch of vendors had set up stalls in the drizzle as overflow from the market.  We got coffee and pastries as we shopped around for food for Christmas Dinner.

Selfies are harder with this camera.

After the market, H took a nap while S and I went out for coffee and pastries.  For lunch, everyone was asleep except S, Dad, and I, so we headed to La Buchetta (just down the street from our airbnb) for a delicious lunch of gnocchi, ravioli, and linguini.  After lunch, I took a 15-minute power nap before our afternoon adventure.

All eight of us went on a Golf Cart tour of Florence for 90 minutes in the middle of the afternoon.  It was a terrific way to get a sense of the city pretty quickly, and with a few kids in tow, it was nice to not have to walk everywhere.  The drivers installed a carseat for R, and we all hit the road!  The carts were speedy, and I was glad that they had seatbelts for us.  W and I were in the back seats of our carts, which meant that while we didn't get to see the sights that the front-facing passengers got to see, we did get a dramatic view of the road while we were driving at speed!

Headed up to (or down from?) Piazza Michelangelo

Dad, D, W, & R in their cart

The cart tour featured a couple of stops, including a view of Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Michelangelo, and a gelato stop for H at the driver's favorite gelato place in the whole city (or so he said).

Happy campers

The view from Piazza Michelangelo

Cousins bonding

After the cart tour, we had a few minutes to unwind before heading back up to Piazza Michelangelo for dinner at La Loggia, a stunning restaurant overlooking the city.  We ate well, splitting four pasta dishes (cacio e pepe, ravilone with duck, tagliatelle with white fish, and pici with meatballs) and two secondi (fried lamb ribs and a stunning Florentine steak).  R was fussy and D/W thought they might have to bail out, but H took on the task of entertaining R until he fell asleep and we were all able to enjoy dinner together!

After dinner, the ladies and the kids took a car home, and Dad, W, and I walked home, snapping some photos along the way.

The city aglow

Merry Christmas!

Reflections in the Arno

One of the things that I enjoyed today as we walked through town was all the public art up all over the place.  Sometimes, it's a little stencil on a garage door, and sometimes, it's a dramatic piece of shadow work high on a building.  Keep your eyes open - beautiful things are everywhere!

Once we got home from dinner, I was basically useless.  I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I helped S get H into bed, said my goodnights, and was in bed by 8.45.  Got up Christmas morning at 7.30 to a quiet house... but that's tomorrow's post!