Scenes from the Streets of Florence...

On the other side of the Ponte Vecchio, we stopped to take a a break.  Here L and E are resting in front of the Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) which dates from the 1400s.  It was owned by the Medici family in the 1500s, was home to the ruling families of the area and in the 1700s Napolean used it as a base. On the other side of this building you'd find the Boboli Gardens.  

S had been asleep on my back just before this was taken.  She was just a leeetle bit sleepy still.  She doesn't like having her photo taken but if you catch her when she's too tired to react you might sneak one in.

Eagle-eye E spotted this no-entry sign.  Pretty funny.

Must be snack time!   We made sure we ate plenty of gelato every day of our Italy adventures. 

The woman behind the counter at this gelaterie said "Ciao bella" to S and she 

still smiles about that to this day.  She loves that phrase. 

Heading back to the Piazza della Signoria

Oh hey, look!  More gelato! 

These are for S.  She love love loves mini cars.  Every time we see one we all have to stop and look at it, decide if we like the color and determine if we could fit our whole family in one.  I think all three of these were two-seaters - so not family cars.  We still love them though.

The Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is Florence's oldest, most famous bridge.  It was built in the 1300s and  originally housed butchers and other trades who used the bridge to throw waste over the sides.  Now the vendors on the bridge are mostly jewelers and tourist souvenir shops.  

Approaching the river... 

Looking one way down the Arno River...

... and then the other.  Ta da!  The Ponte Vecchio! 

The walkway along the river, heading to the bridge. 

On the bridge itself.  Tourist heaven (or not, depending on what type of traveler you are.) 

On the bridge - this little shopper was happy!

View from the bridge

Piazza della Signoria

The Fountain of Neptune - in the Piazza della Signoria

The entrance courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") which is the town hall of Florence.

The Uffizi Gallery with the river Arno in the background.

Wandering the Streets of Florence...

We wandered into this wooden toy shop and the girls never wanted to leave.

E signed the guest book - she loves to do this everywhere we go.

Future chess champion?

This was the beginning of a very special obsession with masks. Everywhere we went E wanted to check out the masks.  She would have bought every single one she saw if we'd let her.  Good thing we only brought two bags with us, we just didn't have room for hundreds of masks.

E is quite taken with these street performers who cover themselves in one color and then stand motionless. She's so enamored by them, my normally quiet shy E actually walked up to this man, said hello and held his hand to take a photo.  The added bonus was that some of the gold rubbed off so her hand had a slightly metallic sheen for the rest of the day.

Florence, Take One

Yay!  Look who we found in Florence!  This is L, W's aunt.  She is a professor in the USA who teaches art history.  She's spent a lot of time in Florence for work and right now she's in Italy for a sabbatical. It was such a treat to be in Europe at the same time and so fun to get to stay with her here. 

The girls love L.  She's the best!  Not to mention she was their very own personal tour guide. 

First glimpse!

I can almost hear S's little voice saying "wow" as she looks up .

Wow is right, little S.

Almost at L's apartment...

Everything about the apartment building is big.  Big doors, big stairs, big windows.  L's theory is that it used to be a library.  It is fun to imagine what some of these big old buildings have been used for through the years and what it was like to live here years ago.

The girls loved L's apartment.  She has a loft!   And a cool bar at the kitchen!