Florence Ya'll

josh: we made it to Florence yesterday, and I must say that it has a few more things going for it compared to her sister city in Kentucky.  ha.  

obviously with Florence being the city that started the renaissance, we have been enjoying  the art here... walking tour of the city, and two art museums later and we've conquered the city!  highlight of the trip, was David, by michaelangelo.  fourteen feet of carved marble is someone to be admired, and you get a good sense of how hard it is to do by looking at several of his unfinished pieces within the academia.  (I had to use up 4 museum points, the currency that Amy gives me to the length of time I'm allowed to look, just to fully take it in!  well worth it!)

i know everyone is wondering what I'm going to do with Rome coming up and only two museums points left.  (three were spent in Paris and one in Germany) well the secret to getting more points is dessert, and Florence has the best gelato in Europe!  (unique flavor, pastaccio sp?). Amy has loved them all, which makes her forget the actual tally of the points I've used.

so how do you find the best gelato in the city?  hire a tour guide? Nah... just have your family host a foreign exchange student, who moves on in life and ends up in Florence. ha, it's that simple.  Met up with Marie last night, and her two visiting friends from Belgium.  We had a wonderful dinner on a square looking up at a church.  it was awesome to see a familiar face so far from home, and someone who knew where the best restaurant was to eat.   someone who speaks italian is also helpful.  overall she seems to be doing great... same old Marie!

well that's it from my reporting... board the train at 7 and will be in Rome by 8:30.   we are enjoying the terrace on the roof of the hotel as we wait... much better than the crowded Florence station!

onward to Rome!