After much fun in the sun, we are off to Firenze for more great art and culture.  As I write this, we are speeding along at about 180 mph toward Florence.  I could get used to this train thing.  As I said, in a previous post, using the train between major cities just makes sense.   If we had the car right now, I would be driving for most of the day today.  It pleasant to be able to enjoy the scenery instead of negotiating the autostrada all day.

Yesterday was a bit of a down day.  Lance and Anais went to the beach, Jean did all of the laundry and, I, pretty much, did nothing.  Jean fixed us our final dinner in Sorrento which we enjoyed sitting under the chandelier in our beautiful apartment.  We calculated that the apartment was over 1700 square feet, three bedrooms, three baths, laundry room, kitchen with dining area, huge formal living room and seven balconies overlooking the plaza.   To say the least, this place was cool!

Well, it’s Tuesday and we had another memorable, albeit tiring, day.  (at least to we older folks)  We had a nice evening last night strolling around the city and admiring the sites.  We found our apartment after a train ride to Florence, rested and cooled off a bit, and hit the streets.  I guess it’s just not a day in Europe without a little five mile stroll every day.  No wonder the Europeans are thinner than we are!

We enjoyed the Ponte Vechio at sunset, street musicians and found a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that turned out to be the best ever.  There was a line to get in so we assumed it would be good and we were not disappointed.  I had fried rabbit and onion rings, Lance had fresh pasta in a duck sauce and Anais had ravioli with mushrooms.  Mimi stuck with one of her favorites………….Tuscan vegetable soup, despite the heat.  We washed it down with a bottle of Prosecco and walked it off by trekking home to the apartment.

Today, we rose early to get a jump in the line at the Accademia so we could see our old friend David.  He looks as magnificent as he did 500 years ago when a 27 year old Michelangelo sculpted him out of a single piece of marble.  We found a little DaVinci museum and checked that out ass well.  For an extra 1 euro, the threw in a piece of pizza and a drink.  Trust me, we got what we paid for.  Ha!

We shopped the famous leather market and even went to the school for leather craftsmen where Lance scored a new wallet with his initials in gold.  That place was really amazing.

We are off this evening on Ta Ta for now!

Lance’s new wallet getting gold initials

Waiting for his wallet to be initialed.

Waiting to have his new wallet initialed

The craftsman heating the iron to initial the wallet with gold leaf.

Making ostrich bags

We think Lance and Anais posed for these

And you thought the real Mona Lisa was in Paris………………..

Entertainment in the street

Great restaurant…………….

Sun setting over the Arno

Ponte Vechio

Anais having her own personalized necklace made.

Anais and Mimi in the living room

On the balcony.

Grandpa liked the sardines.

Lance was not a fan. He thought it looked more like bait than real fish.

Last dinner in the Sorrento apartment before going to Florence.

This is the tile work in the kitchen of the apartment. It is a actually a picture of the building.