Day Two of Florence

Today we were told by the people who own the place we were staying in to drive to the city, and told us a certain place to park. We eventually found it and parked there, then we realized we were on top of a hill. But the view of the city was absolutely fantastic. We walked down the hill and then toward the Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that has buildings coming out from the sides, all of which are gold and/or silver shops. Before we crossed it though, we went to a grocery sttore to eat our breakfast. We had some bread and fruit and headed on our way. After we crossed the Ponte Vecchio, we headed to the Palazzo Vecchio, which has been Florence's town hall since 1299. It, like many other things in Florence, was made by its once ruling family, the Medici. They put the gold and silver shops on the bridge, built the palaces and town halls. There are even secret passageways on top of buildings that they used to get around without being seen. They supported many young artists during the renaissance, they made it the cradle of the renaissance. They funded Michelangelo, Botticelli, and many others. After we checked out the town hall, we got in line to go to the Uffizi gallery, home to Botticelli's masterpieces, the birth of Venus, and Spring. Also it is home to many other incredible works, like Da Vinci's Annunciation and the Duke and Duchess of Urbino. After waiting a while, dad went and got special tickets for us to come in later at a certain time. We had some gelato while we waited. Once we got into the gallery, we did a brief but comprehensive tour. Everything is beutiful, but it is best to look at the more important ones, especially when you have a five year old with you. We left the Uffizi and wandered for a while looking for a little snack. By the time we finally went to one it was almost dinner. After having some sandwiches, we headed down the street and got some waffles, mmmmm. Then we (me and Dad climbed up the hill to the car. This took us a while, but when we reached the top we bought a David bobblehead for mom because she had jokinggly told us not to. We drove down and got mom, Hailey and Griffin and drove home. I'll post again soon.