Firenze

Day 1 in Florence. The entire international villa contingent bused into Florence this morning after a lovely breakfast in the garden of the villa. We had no real agenda, so just wandered the streets stopping at some of the key sites. But as expected the Uffici and Academia had exceptionally long lines, so we passed until we can book reservations. I will pass on both since I have visited both in the past. I will make a repeat visit to the Bargello as it is my favorite museum in Florence. We did visit the Duomo and after the "gang" made an early return to the villa, Heather (from Australia) and I visited San Croce, and our much anticipate gelati at Vivoli, my favorite gelateria.

I had the pleasure, and the pressure, of cooking for the entire crew tonight. Being Sunday we were limited in our shopping experience, but I managed to create a very passable fritatta of tomato, sausage, garlic, and onion. This was served with a mixed green salad and caprese salad. Oh, anbd not unexpectedly, we had just a little vino too.

Florence was very crowded today, far too many people for me, but Heather and I managed to get slightly lost on our way to San Croce, and found the Jewish Quarter, which I had not seen before. It was interesting to see Kosher restaurants in the middle of Florence. On our next trip into the city, I play on a visit to the Bargello museum, and then wander aimlessly through the Oltrarno, the "Left Bank" of Florence, across the Arno river from the heart of the action.

Ciao from Firenze.