Firenze

Just a little more travel inspiration for you today - our trip to Florence in photo form!  Ryan read that Dan Brown book Inferno just before this trip and he was crazy excited to get to Florence and check out all the art history.  I am an art history lover myself, but I am also a mother of 4 under 8 years old, so I made it a point to throw in plenty of gelato breaks.  Plus, my mom - the ultimate lover of shopping - was with us, so we also had plenty of shopping breaks.  Combine that checklist with the constant lure of Italian cuisine, and you have a VERY busy couple of days.  Ry insisted on getting the Florence city passes so we could squeeze in as much museum time as possible without having to schedule appointments - tis very busy in museums in the summer, you know.  Much to our dismay, they had jacked up the price of said Florence card considerably since the publishing of our trusty Rick Steves guide book, but alas, we had not made any appointments and were cornered into springing for the Florence card.  Bearing all THAT in mind - our days in Florence could be summed up as BUSY, EXPENSIVE, & FULFILLING.  All in all, worth it I would say.  Check it out…

Why hello, hugest duomo we've ever seen.

BAM!

Gates of paradise - and my Ry pretending they are not a replica of the delicate originals carefully tucked away in a museum somewhere (which I think we actually saw later).

Here's the little guy - staunch connoisseur of all things artistic and cultural - picking the nose of a well preserved statue.

Little E - queen of the castle

I loved this courtyard wall - if those hangings were family photos, this could be an American living room.

We had a nice view until that dude parked his horse and carriage right in front of us!  No worries, the college kids who just plopped down next to us blowing second hand smoke directly in our air supply had us moving right along anyway.

Some edited versions of the David sculpture - brought to you by us.

We opted for skirts, due to the heat…in case you were curious about our fashion choices.

Thanks for the edit - Carv man.

And there he is in all his glory - just another replica.   Don't worry - we saw the real deal later.

These two - thankfully not noticing the graphic "rape of the sabine women" sculpture located directly to their left.

Just another gorgeous courtyard

A peak at the impressive "Hall of 500" - Ryan's favorite site on the trip.

Ah, the rooftops in Florence

Sometimes you pop in to a little pizzeria for lunch, and you notice that you are in the very restaurant where they filmed the Italian season of The Jersery Shore.  Trashy, I know, but who doesn't love a little American pop culture?  I know I do!

GTL, anyone?

I think we got a "situation" in here.

My little wannabe guido & guidettes

Post Ufizzi Gallery gelato break

The Ufizzi - as amazing and overwhelming as the Louvre.

This bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, is filled with jewelry shops and people.

Great window shopping and people watching - two of my favorite travel pastimes!

This hard-earned sunkissed family shot was brought to you by 2 weeks straight on the mediterranean.  It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Heading back to our hotel after another exhausting day.

These little ladies waited patiently in this courtyard while we took turns going into this monastery turned museum.

And now, for some more Italian cuisine.  

The owner of this restaurant had lived as an expat in Texas for a few years and he LOVED  all things Texas.  He warned us about the restaurant next door saying that it was cheaper, but owned by democrats and therefore, not as good.  He kept walking by saying phrases like "Don't mess with Texas" and "Remember the Alamo" and "I never gave up on 'the W'"… as in George W. Bush.  Hillarious!

And we finished off with a quick clean up at one of the many water spouts in the city.  The kids love these things!

After all that art and culture in Florence, it was on to Venice where strolling and eating are the main attractions.