Florence updates

Ah, Firenze! The birthplace of the Renaissance, home of David, center for fashion, and so much more! We stayed at a wonderful hotel centrally located to the Accademia, Uffizi gallery, and just blocks from Brunelleschi's Duomo. While only have 1.5 full days in Florence, we really made it count! We clocked over 10 miles on most of our fit bits- isn't technology, handy? Activities included a walking tour of Florence highlights: Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore, Galleria dell'Accademia, San Lorenzo, Santa Croce, the central market, and more! After touring the city sites in the morning and seeing the David. We broke into groups, one group headed to the Uffizi Gallery to marvel and wander the largest single collection of renassiance and medieval artworks in the world. For example, Botticelli's Birth of Venus. While the other group climbed the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo, where you can admire Giorgio Vasari's frescoes of the Last Judgment up close and see a marvelous view of the city. This group also climbed several hundred more steps to get a view from the Bapistry, while the museum group headed up to San Michaelangelo Piazza to observe the city from afar and look for the chanting monks at San Minato. We ended our two evenings in Florence with amazing dinners consisting of local tuscan favorites and of course gelato!