Wednesday in Florence

Today was our first full day in Florence (or as the locals refer to it, Firenze) and we enjoyed every minute. First, we are still up to our ears in beautiful weather - while it was a tiny bit windy & cool (~65) today, it was still sunny & clear. A good thing considering our outdoor plans.

We started the day at 7AM with breakfast at our new hotel - the basement space is a little bit small, but we're able to all fit in & eat together (barely!). Then a quick bus ride brought us to Firenze city centre about 9AM,  for an appointment with a local tour guide to view Michelangelo's David in the Accademia Museum, followed by a walking tour. We saw the Piazza della Signoria, Piazza della Repubblica, Ponte Vecchio, and wandered around the Duomo and Uffizi Gallery. Our tour wound up in the Piazza della Repubblica, and we got the luxury of several free hours to do...what else? Shop, snack & sight-see. The weather truly is unbelievable, so sight-seeing was a popular option (some went inside the Uffizi gallery to view the beautiful renaissance & historical art & sculpture, which had a long waiting line for entry).

We met up again at the Piazza to walk over to Il Porcospino (the porcupine) trattoria where we had an excellent dinner together -- salad already waiting when we arrived, followed by Tuscan fare of ribolita (re-boiled soup) and Tuscan stew, and a dessert of Creme caramel. Yum!

Finally back at the hotel by 10 and to bed, because tomorrow is an early start. We've had a small change of plans from our original schedule, and rather than sing a mass at the Siena Duomo, we'll tour Siena and then travel to San Gimignano (a picturesque Tuscan village) for a full-on concert performance at the Collegiata. This is an amazing medieval church with amazing frescos & wonderful acoustics, and we're lucky we got to add it to our tour.

Here's some pictures from today's fun: