Firenze

Our accommodation in Florence was the last of our bookings.  And it was because I really wanted the gang to get the vibe of this area and love it as much as I do.  I wanted the beautiful weather, the olive trees and grapevines with our villa set among the hillside with a crisp cool pool to dip in as the temperature gets above the 30s.

And we have it.  It comes at the cost of everyone complaining about the tram and bus to get there - but consensus has been reached everytime a bottle of chianti wine gets opened, the cantuccini toscani packet is opened or we dip in the pool, this was a good decision and fleeing NZ winters in retirement could definitely include Tuscany.

Through our travels and various galleries and museum’s (and street art) across Europe, the Statue of David has been referenced and today is the day that we get the opportunity to see it.  And I'm so glad I chose this over all the other amazing things to see here.  Firstly, it's magnificent in person, I can’t describe it with words that do it justice so I won’t.  We spent a bit of time in the Galleria dell'Accademia looking at all the plaster casts of originals, and quite rightly stated by the whanau, they have had enough of looking at religious paintings.  On the positive side, they were pretty accurate with trying to date the paintings based on the artwork which was pretty cool.  We can chalk that up to the Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid.  

As we exit, we end up by the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and all the street art being sold.  There was one artist actually painting while we were there.  And as Kaia has a love of painting she was quite enamored by his work.  He invited her to contribute to his work, and so in the birthplace of Renaissance art, with the Basilica in the background, Kaia got to paint.

Florence used to have this amazing market close to the train station.  And I had talked it up, excited to go back, and it was pretty disappointing.  Not for the amount of stalls, but the blatant ripping off of tourists.  This experience has probably been the most uncomfortable Zach has been - he hated the whole experience of bartering and haggling over price.  He just wanted out of the market as fast as possible.  The market was important for me as it's where I bought bracelets 20 years ago, and was pretty sure I would find them again.  And it was important to find these, as for 20 years my little sister has “borrowed” them from me.  Honestly, it's just easier to fly halfway across the world to buy Kellie her own than have to lock down my jewelry before she arrives at my house!!!  

On the way back to the tram we stopped in to get more socks and shorts for Zach.  Doesn’t matter where you are in the world.  All washing machines have a program that ensures you lose at least 1 sock every wash.  Oh and Kaia is on her third pair of togs.  Apparently they “disappear” too. By the time we get home, the kids will have all new clothes in their carry on.