guest blog!

guest blog written by my parentals after their week spent in italia!!

So Ron and Wendy come to the end of an incredible week in Florence, with our daughter, Marlene, as hostess.  We cannot thank her enough for putting up with all our questions and taking time out to be with us.  We are so envious that she gets to be here for another 3 months!  As to Florence - it was much more than we ever expected.  There is just so much to see and do here - every street has a long history and thank goodness, the Florentines are not only proud of that history, but also they have gone to great lengths to preserve it.  It is hard to pick a favorite day or site - they were all awesome and overwhelming.  a few observations: Italians smoke - a whole lot, but thankfully it was banned from restaurants 7 years ago.  Still, there is smoke everywhere They are very much into a green environment - at least from what we could see.  At our hotel, our key had to be inserted in a slot in the room to keep the electricity on.  No key, no electricity!  think about the number of times you have left a hotel room with all the lights on... The city is remarkably clean - we saw very little in the way of litter which is amazing given that there is a gelato store on every corner. Off season is definitely the time to come - cannot imagine what it would be like in the summer when they say it is wall to wall tourists.  There were a few places like the Ufizi where it was a bit crowded - but overall it was not, so we did not have to wait in line nor were we jostled or rushed out of a particular site.  Florence is expensive - yes one can stick to the trattorias and eat relatively cheaply - but one pays for water if one wants it and even for bread in some - unknowingly.  The fact that there is no tax and you don't have to tip helps a bit.  But the eater must beware of what they are ordering and what they are getting. Having said that - we did have some awesome meals at reasonable prices because hostess Marlene has found some great restaurants! Would we come back?  Maybe if we could rent a car and travel around a bit.  We feel like we saw all the top sites and a good bit of the lesser ones - we averaged at least 3 churches a day and have now a pretty rudimentary understanding of the differences in painting in the middle ages versus the renaisssance.  And by studying the paintings, we actually learned a whole lot about Christianity in general and the symbolism in  the paintings. All in all - an excellent adventure made all the more special becase we could share it with Marlene!