Florence

Although we have been staying in Florence this entire trip, we haven't done any real sightseeing. We decided to try a guided tour for our day in Florence. There was so much to see, and parking and getting around can be tricky. We hopped on a bus and listened to the history of Florence spoken in English. It was a nice treat.

Panoramic view of Florence. And yes, those are mean rain clouds in the background.

Just at the edge of the crowded city is beautiful protected green space. Such a beautiful contrast.

An attempt at a self portrait.

A stop at the duomo.

Front of the duomo.

The bronze "Gates of Paradise" on the baptistry.

Detailed frescos inside the dome.

Duomo.

We visited the Academy where we saw the statue of David. No pictures were allowed, so we don't have any blog proof of the visit. 

Eating pizza in the square.

City market place.

The only bridge that survived WWII. It houses the gold smith shops. Grant wouldn't let me visit for fear I would drain our checking account. Smart man.

Is Grant not developing some great photography skills? It was almost dark out when he took this picture at the Uffizi museum. I am pretty impressed.

We ended the day visiting the Uffizi museum (used to house the offices of the Medici family) where we saw Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and other works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Rembrandt.

When we finished the tour, I once again had soggy shoes from the rain. We found an Italian movie theater that had a film with English subtitles. We got out of the rain and caught a film.