Florence, Italy
Italy, my favorite place to laze out and enjoy life. Unfortunately, this wasn't the trip for that kinda fare. Rather, it was a whirlwind tour of the city, begat by my most illustrious hostess, Karla, on a 6 day, 6 night breeze that turned into a 7 night, 8 day affair.
That's okay because I still had the time of my life.
Florence in all its splendor, looking over the town from the Piazzale Michelangelo. Karla challenged me to climb the hill to the top -- I was my usual trooper self as I navigated the vertical hoist, to be richly rewarded with this amazing vista. It was the view of the entire city that caused me to fall deeply in love with Florence.
Here are some of the characters I encountered on my tour. You will see Anastasia and her guy, Roald (its like Raoul, but sideways), and Viking Jim (but you pronounce that YIM) Vikstrom with the beard in the center (email me with the correct spelling of your last name please!), Andy - one of the instructors at the Florence Academy of Art - toward the right, and Karla on the very right.
Saturday night was fajita night, but it was also drink a bottle and a half of Don Julio tequila, as well. Nice welcome to the little town.
Typical street scene in Florence, albeit a cold and blustery one. I brought capri pants because it had been HOT the week before. 'Bet you don't see any capri pants in this picture. I failed to look on a global map before my packing, otherwise I would have noticed Florence being on the same latitude as New York (or perhaps Vermont?)
The very famous Florence Duomo in the center of town. I left the shot exactly the way it was without lightening it because the day itself was gloomy and cold. The Duomo Center was a great little hang out, when it wasn't raining or windy enough to blow two women walking...