Florence and Siena

We made it to Siena last night by bus. We are glad to be here and thought 2 days was plenty of time in Florence. The city is so busy with people, cars, motorcycles, etc. It gets a little overwhelming.

Yesterday morning we went on a walking tour of Florence and learned so much about the history. Back in the Renaissance time public execution was a very popular social thing to see on weekends. So much so they had to go get prisoners from other cities to execute! We also learned about the very wealthy Medici family. They started out as textile merchants in the 12th century and then became bankers eventually becoming the wealthiest family in Italy and possibly Europe! We saw their influence all over the city. With their wealth, and to ensure a place in Heaven, they helped pay to enhance and build churches and other buildings. Every building they helped pay for or ever lived in had the Medici Coat of Arms on the front.

The next stop was the Uffizi Gallery. We had a tour guide that explained the most popular paintings. We wish we could have gone on this tour before going to the other galleries in Venice. The guide was from the US and moved to Florence to study art. She did a great job explaining the paintings and how they changed in terms of perspective and scenes throughout the centuries. The paint they used in the 12th century was made of eggs and various other things for colors, including ladybugs for red. The paintings were all done on wood until about the 14th century when Leonardo painted with oil on canvas. There were lots of statues at this museum too.

The final tour of the day was to see the statue of David. I'm sure some of you reading this will be dissapointed to know we just didn't have enough energy to make it to this one. We had already been on two 3-hour tours and didn't have enough time to eat before the David tour so we decided to not go. Instead we found a nice outdoor cafe to have a late lunch and then did more shopping before catching the bus. I found a really cute pair of leather boots and a purse.

So I don't think I've mentioned the food yet. We have been eating mostly traditional Italian food, lots of pasta and pizza (although most of it has been disappointing). The pasta dishes have been great along with tiramisu and gelato! We have been walking almost nonstop every day but I still think we'll come home a few pounds heavier. :-)

Yesterday was Jason's birthday and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Siena. The restaurant was truly Italian with very unique dishes. I had a type of meatloaf (they'd probably kill me if they heard me call it that!) but it was some type of bird wrapped around pork mixed with potatoes and almonds. I know...sounds very interesting. But it was good!

Today we are hanging out in Siena doing a little window shopping and relaxing from the busy day yesterday. They have an open market on Wednesdays only that we will visit, then off to Cinque Terre!