Day 5: Uffizi and Carousels

Last night was rough, as R is still adjusting to the new time zone and the bar across the street spilled out loudly into the street.  Most of our group was up much of the night, and were tired as a result.

Nevertheless, there was a city to explore!  So, we dragged ourselves out of bed, ate leftover coldcut sandwiches for breakfast, and met our guide Brenda for our visit to the Uffizi.  

We booked a family-friendly tour of the Uffizi with LivTours, which came highly recommended through a number of sources.  Gli Uffizi was packed, so it took us a while to get in, but once we were in, we had a great time!  

We basically had the gallery to ourselves.

Brenda was delightful!  She was knowledgeable, engaging with H, and gave us a very interesting tour of the artwork.  In each room, she shared adult-oriented information about the work, but she also took us through the history and significance of the work in a way that kept H interested and engaged.  R, naturally, napped.

Hallway at Gli Uffizi.

Ponte Vecchio from Gli Uffizi.

After the Uffizi, we grabbed lunch at Il David, then took a siesta at the airbnb.  D and I took a walkabout for groceries, and then W and I took a walk to find the real David.  We struck out on it, mostly because the line to get in was too long.  But, we found a nice place in Piazza della Republica for a negroni and snack (Pecorino Strudel with truffle sauce!). We met up with everyone else and some of us enjoyed a ride on the carousel!

After the carousel, we found a place for a great dinner, and H got to try her first banana split!  It was a great evening to what could have been a very tough day!

Day 4: Tuscan countryside

I woke at 4.30 this morning.  I got five hours of sleep, so I wasn't particularly worried about flaming out during the day. Plus, given our planned activities, there will be plenty of opportunities for cat naps.  R, on the other hand, had a really rough night and kept his parents up all night.  So, W & R stayed in town while the rest of us hopped in a van with Massimo to venture into the Tuscan countryside.  D planned a day trip for us!

45 minutes out of town, our first stop was the Castello di Verrazzano outside Greve in Chianti.  The winery is owned by the descendants of the Verrazzano family (the same one with the narrows and the bridge named after them in NYC).  We had a tour of the grounds and then a wine tasting.  The winery is organic, so there are a lot of restrictions placed on what the vineyard can do on the grounds, including irrigation, pesticides, etc. H was tired for much of the tour, but she rallied when she was given colored pencils and paper in lieu of wine at the tasting!

After the wine tasting, we piled back into the van.  Massimo drove us into Greve in Chianti for a quick walkabout and a bite for lunch.  On the menu was ravioli with sage cream sauce, lasagna, and gnocchi (of course).  The shops were all closed, but the piazza was cute!

After lunch, Massimo brought us down to Radda in Chianti, an ancient mountaintop town.  We expected to spend around an hour in the town, but we only lasted around 40 minutes, partly because shops were closed, and partly because it was chilly.  

After we were done chilling ourselves on the mountaintop, Massimo drove us back to town as we all snoozed.   When we got back to Firenze, he took us to a pharmacy to grab some supplies for W.  We came back to the flat to visit with W & R, who were both awake and chilling out.  

S and I ran out to All'Antico Vinaio for delicious sandwiches for the whole family!  Then we put the kids to bed and failed to stay awake. Off to bed!  Another big day tomorrow!

Day 3: Merry Christmas!

The jet lag seems to have dissipated today.  I got up at 7.30 and had the flat to myself for about 2.5 hours.  I got a chance to have a quiet morning until folks got up.  

After folks got up and moving around, Dad, D, H, and I took a walkaround to see the city and grab some groceries.  The city was aflutter with people, tourists and locals, going to church, wandering town, grabbing snacks and taking in the sights.  

Santa Croce

Santa Maria del Fiore

D & H snapping a photo of a church

After that walk, I met up with S and wandered the town with her.  We hit the Arno right at golden hour...

Christmas dinner later that night was salmon ravioli with pesto, pork roast, fried octopus, and other delights from Mercato Sant'Ambrogio.  A delightful dinner!

We also had a chance to catch up with all our family back in the states over Facetime.  It was our dinnertime, but they were all getting up and starting their days....

After dinner, we all took a walk around town to see the lights of the city at night.  Lot of storefronts are lit up, the streets have lights strung overhead, and some of the old buildings have beautiful projections on them.

H considering a shot

Rubbing the boar's snout for luck!

The streets had lights suspended overhead.  Magical!

After our walk, we all came back, put the kids to bed, and then vegged out for a while until we collapsed into bed.  Tomorrow's an early morning!

Also, more public art!

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!