Florence with the Family

When I was sixteen, I went on a whirlwind tour through Europe with a group from my high school.  We visited eight cities in five countries over seventeen days.  Of those cities, Florence was the least memorable.  (I think) we were there for two days, but all I remember was fighting through crowds to see Michelangelo's David and hopping the fence with my track team and coach to practice on a private local track.  For whatever reasons, the city just didn't stick in my mind.  Regardless, with my family meeting us in Italy, I was giving Florence a chance to prove my teenage sensibilities wrong.

We kicked off our five days in the city with an evening tour of the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Walking on the cobblestone streets by medieval towers and Renaissance palaces, I saw that Florence was much more interesting than my memory gave it credit for.  It did not hurt that we had a guide who had a PhD in Renaissance art, which was a far cry from our "these columns are Ionic, whatever that means" guide in Athens.  He led us to most of Florence's highlights, including the Duomo, the Baptistery, Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Medici Riccardi.  I thought the kids, especially Liam, would find the tour boring, but they were surprisingly interested.

Our tour with Dr. Waldemar begins

Il Duomo - maybe the prettiest exterior of a Church I've ever seen, although the interior was nothing special

Cellini's Perseus, against the Palazzo Vecchio.  Supposedly, many experts, including our guide, consider this the most beautiful statue ever made - yes, even better than David.

The whole gang in front of the Vecchio bridge, the only bridge in the city to survive WWII

We took the next two days in the city fairly easy because they were sandwiched between long day trips and our packed schedule in Rome.  One day was spent at the Boboli Gardens, the Medici's family former backyard, and the other was spent taking in some of Florence's churches.  While the highlights of our time in Florence were actually the two day trips we took (Magge should have more on them later), the time we spent in the city should prove to be more memorable than my visit twelve years ago.

View of Florence and the back of my dad from Boboli Gardens

I can't blame the kids for thinking this is funny

Fountain in Boboli Gardens