A Masterpiece in Florence...

When Carolyn, Steve, Samantha and Zach set off to Rome for the final stop on their European tour, we got on a train back to Florence to spend two nights. After checking into our hotel, we dashed off for our pre-booked appointment to see Michelangelo’s David. After a wait in the hot sun, we finally got to see the world’s most famous statue. No photography is allowed at the Accademia Gallery (where he’s been housed since 1878), but Veronica has gotten quite good at shooting from the hip (with no flash, of course).

Finished in 1504 when Michelangelo was only 29, this 17-foot-tall statue originally stood in front of the Palazzo Vechio (town hall), where this copy now stands.

Imagine our surprise when we walked into the museum’s garden and came across this pink David by German artist Hans Peter Feldmann.

Final Night in Siena...

After the fiasco of our private tour, we decided to keep our final evening together simple. Steve poured over TripAdvisor to get a recommendation for a relaxing place for dinner. He chose Osteria del Gatto, which was ranked #4 at the time, where we enjoyed a very good meal for a very reasonable price. Afterwards, the kids ran off to play Frisbee in the main square and to get an ice cream, and we stopped for an after dinner drink. It was unfortunate that Jimmy was unable to join us, but it sure was great being together. There’s still so much of Italy to explore. Who’s going to meet us for our next adventure?

No Longer Little Kids...

Tuscany July 2012

When we were together in the Loire Valley in 2005, the kids (plus cousins Johnny and Jimmy) climbed onto some giant hay bales. When we saw some in Tuscany, we couldn’t resist trying to recreate the photos. Of course, we forgot that the kids had grown a lot in the last seven years and it wasn’t so easy for them to balance on top of the giant wheels of hay.

Loire Valley June 2005

Beautiful Sunflowers...

While we weren’t impressed with our private tour, we were impressed with the Tuscan sunflowers. This field definitely made for a great photo op. 

Minimizing Sightseeing?

Much to our dismay, Simon minimized how much sightseeing we’d do on our all-day tour. Rather than taking us to a winery, we stopped for a tasting at a wine distributor. Then we went to San Galgano Abbey. This Cistercian church was finished in 1268. The roof collapsed due to a fire in the 16th century and it has been in ruins ever since.

The abbey is now used to host operas during the summer, which is a fantastic setting. We tried to sneak the kids onto the stage for a photo, but got caught. Steve also caught them when they posed for this photo.

Unfortunately, Simon wasn’t aware that the church on the hill above housed the original Sword in the Stone, so we missed seeing it. Sadly, despite a variety of walled cities and castles in the vicinity, we missed seeing anything else in the area. Simon was a nice guy, but he was clueless as a tour guide.

A Crazy Tour of Tuscany...

For our final day together, Carolyn suggested that we do a private tour of the Tuscan countryside. We figured there would be little risk in hiring the British partner of the Italian chef who’d given a wonderful cooking class the previous week. When Simon arrived in his old VW van without air conditioning, we knew we were in trouble.

While the countryside was lovely, we spent a lot longer then necessary circling around when Simon got lost and refused to pull over to consult his navigation system. Luckily he finally managed to find the restaurant that he’d booked for lunch and the food was very good.

Unusual Statues and Vending Machines...

Not far from the main gate of San Gimignano, we came across this statue, which Carolyn couldn’t resist posing with.

Apparently, the rusted naked guy statue was quite popular and showed up in several different places including the top of this tower.

This statue was in the main square. We couldn’t help but notice that he was within sight of the condom vending machine. Steve calls this photo Mother-Daughter Time in San Gimignano: Learning the Ways of the World.