So here's the plan. A nine hour drive through Switzerland to Florence! I know it's not much of a plan but it's all we got! I packed us up the day before and tried to have the kids running around outside as much as possible. Bruce and I were up at 5am and out of the apartment by 6am with two very groggy children, just the way we like 'em! Believe it or not the drive was pretty uneventful! Spectacular views and vistas especially through Switzerland. The tunnels were amazing, one was 17 km. My claustrophobia reared its ugly little head. Bruce tried to help by telling tunnel disaster stories. Didn't really help! He was like that guy on the plane who can't some talking about plane crashes! The mountain ranges just go on and on. There are all these tiny towns built right into the side of the mountains. Castle like buildings, forts and churches sprinkle the upper levels. Really beautiful!
We stopped somewhere in Switzerland, I think, for a picnic lunch, I remembered everything except knives. They are pivotal when you are serving nutella as your children's only source of protein, I must say. This guy overheard our dilemma and produced a couple of knives. It ended up that he and Bruce went to the same high school! What are the chances, I mean really!?!? I think we have moved from our disastrous phase to our eerie meeting phase!
When we left Germany it was just starting to cool down from a warm spell. It was about 25 degrees I think. It was 39 degrees when we arrived in Florence. Absolutely scorching! Our hotel was just north of the Arno on the west side of town. It had a spectacular rooftop pool! The bottom picture is one of the views from the rooftop terrace. If anyone ever goes to Florence in the summer with kids. A pool is an absolute must!
I must say Florence was not what I expected. I'm not sure exactly what I expected but it wasn't that! It is really small for starters, less than 1/2 million people. It takes the term 'tourist town' to whole new heights! There is the same feeling there as in the Caribbean. The locals need you because their economy relies on tourists but they resent you for that. I'm pretty sure July in Florence with two young kids is not the ideal scenario though. Definitely a grown up town. Hopefully Bruce and I will be able to go back one day just the two of us.
Having said that, I had the best damn cappuccino ever! I can't even describe how good it was and Bruce assures me there are better ones out there! Out there being Italy, nowhere else!!
The food there is almost unbearably good! Soooo fresh! I loved the markets too. Leather, and accessories, just what I'm looking for! That is totally my kind of shopping. I love the smell of a deal! I gotta a purse (wanted one), a wallet (needed one) and ear rings (you can neve have too many ear rings). I could have got another purse, a belt and some cool hats if I didn't feel like all I was doing was throwing money at anybody that asked!
Now I have to make a confession! It's a big one... Are you ready? We didn't go to the Uffzi gallery OR the Acadamia. I know, I know! It was so stiflingly hot and you have line up unless you're on a tour... The thought was unbearable! Forgive me.
The first night we were there we headed straight for the pool and then the girls and I grabbed a quick dinner. Best lasagna I've ever had! Bruce had a work dinner to go. The next morning Bruce was off to work and the girls and I hit the pool first, of course, and then on to Florence. They couldn't bear the thought of a tour so we just walked along the Arno river towards the Ponto Vecchio and then into town. At 10am it was already 35 degrees. The next time I go to Florence, if it's in the summer I swear I'm taking one of those air conditioned bus tours! Don't judge me! You've not walked in my fitflops!
I had heard of the Museo Leonardo DaVinci from savymom.com, of all places. I found it, no small feat, well Shannon actually found it, and it was fantastic. It is really off the beaten path but totally worth it if you have kids. It is small but had some great videos playing giving you a great sense of the time he was alive and what his life was like and a great oppurtunity to sit down in air contditoning and then a bunch of the inventions were interactive. That is were the Mona Lisa pictures are from. Conveniently located near a McDonald's. I honestly thought Olivia was going to start to cry , when I told her we could go to McDonald's for lunch. It was such a relief for them to have "normal" food, Shannon's phrase. Where oh where did I go wrong!
So now it's about 1pm and we are heading straight back to the hotel to swim and just chill out. Because it is so hot none of the restaurants open before 7pm so the girls need to relax and rejuvenate because it's going to be a long nite. Nothing worse than tired, hungry, hot children, that is for sure!
I give Shannon, the map reader, some bad intel and we get horribly lost. I'm literally buying water and pouring it over the girls heads because it is so hot. Olivia face was so red I thought she was going to pass out. Finally we make it back to the hotel and drag ourselves up to the pool. We are bearly alive at this point.
THERE ARE ENGLISH SPEAKING KIDS THERE! I can not tell you how great it was! Georgia is right in between Shannon and Olivia in age, almost exactly a year older than Lee and E-lie(I spelled it phonetically because I can't for the life of me figure out how to spell it properly!) is 6 years old. Their Mom Terri and I yakked at the side of the pool while the kids played for hours together. It was a great afternoon. Really what we need to do is have an early dinner, maybe a movie and an early night. Ahhh, if only..
Bruce arrived back at the hotel later than expected, which here is to be expected, with one of his co workers no less and just needed to have a quick meeting over a beer... Will this day ever end. No, not really! J.M joined us for dinner at about 8pm. A great guy from Koln Germany that Bruce works with. Remember those hot, tired, hungry kids I was telling you about, they both came to dinner too! It is a miracle my head hasn't popped right off my shoulders by this point! 11pm and the girls are finally in bed!
Bruce had Friday off, hurray, and we are off to the markets, much to Olivia's shagrin, do I even need to add that? Poor kid, it's like we are torturing her. She hates the food, she's not getting enough sleep, we're always doing stuff we want, nothing is familiar... After lunch, which Olivia wouldn't eat, 'cause it was weird, we head back to the hotel to spend the afternoon at the pool. Please, please, let Georgia and her brother be there.
Yeah, they are. Their Dad Martin arrives soon after and we all spend a great time together. Bruce and Martin go and buy some beer and water at a local store. The hotel bar is so expensive and they don't seem to care if you byob. At some point saving money becomes a none issue because we end up having three bottles of champagne at the bar. We all then head off to dinner. By this point Olivia and Georgia are fast friends and Eli has a bit of a crush on Shannie, he thinks she is really cool! She was so sweet with him. Held his hand all the way to the restaurant, shared a pizza with him at dinner. He was collecting glass bits so Shannie kept an eye out for him. Once again we push Olivia past her limit! More weird food, Georgia got plain noodles, I didn't even know that was an option, so unfair! Apparently Italian bread is weird too. We wouldn't let her have any coke. Life can be so unfair.
Next year with Mrs.Balanger should be a piece of cake!
It's somehow 11pm again and we're just finishing dinner. We drag our exhausted, sun burnt bodies back to the hotel and try and sleep.
First thing the next morning, Bruce heads out to the markets on his own to get a briefcase and I take the girls swimming, then I head out after him.
I'm now walking, alone, in Florence to go shopping! I can barely stand it! This is the first time since we've been in Europe that I've been outside and alone! Life is good.
After a quick dip in the pool, some tearful goodbyes and promises of letters and visits we head off for what is supposed to be a 4 hour drive to the Neushwantein and Hohenshwangau castles in Germany.
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