Adventure Travellers Eno and Davidson

Adventure Travellers Eno and Davidson

Welcome to Europe's Other Tour

Join us as we cover 4 countries in 3 weeks:
England (London)
France
Stage 17 of the Tour de France
Switzerland
Italy (Cinque Terre & Tuscany)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Not Freezin' in Florence

Hey all!

First an addendum to the last post - I forgot to mention that we spent the last of the three days with the car touring Il Chanti, home to Hannibal Lecter's pick of the reds, as it were. Lots of way back roads, a couple of tastes, and one purchase. From there we made our way north to Florence fighting traffic, frustrating maps and Hertz's closing time. In the end, we made it with 20 mins to spare, and the shady Hertz dude only soaked us for 70 extra Euros - not bad for Italy, I guess.

Well, Florence, what can I say. High concentrations of Renaissance Art must make places hot. If Joff's out there reading, dude, it was like Cape Hatteras hot, and without the escape of the A/C of Dad's Blazer. Crazy!

That said, we fit everything that you're supposed to do in Florence in the three days that we had. Climbed the 467 steps up to the Duamo's Dome, Piazza della Signora, Pont Verricho, Galleria del'Academia (Michelangelo's David), and the Galleria d'Uffizi (Da Vinci's Birth of Venus)...pictures to follow but boring!!!! Well boring compared to the First Division European Premiereship soccer game between visting Barcelona and hometown Fiorentina that we went to. Actually got into this baby for the low low price of 24 Euros (not each btw, total!). The video says it all:

Il Duomo (we climbed the dome which is actually higher then the bell tower in foreground)

View of Florence from the top of Il Duomo



A David knock-off in the Piazza della Signora (original location of the statue). PS illegal to take pics of the real thing in the Academia.


Ponte Vecchio - the only bridge over the Arno River that was spared during WWII. The two theories are first that the order came down from Hilter himself not to bomb the bridge, or alternatively that the order in fact came down but that the general in charge of the operation refused to carry it out...


Our digs in Florence at Hotel Orchidea (Orchid)


So, we've arrived safely in gay Paris - yesterday, actually - and are taking in what we can while actually looking forward to getting back to NS with all of our treasures and experiences. One more sleep here, one more in London, then one in Mahone Bay before taking in Steve freakin' Earle in Hali, BABY!!!! Looking forward to seeing you all soon; will try to make one more post of the Paris stuff tomorrow night in London.

Onward,

S 'n' S

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Magnifique ce que vous avez fait (",)
Bravo pour le match mais qui a gagné ?
Barcelone est l'une des meilleures équipes de foot d'Europe. Par contre Fiorentina est un cran en dessous.
Profitez bien de votre séjour à Paris et gros bisous.
Famille Rapo

Anonymous said...

Hi Selena and Shane:
I lost you guys a week ago Friday. Been trying to connect to you all week. I called Kayle, this afternoon and she e-mailed your pictures and blog to me and I connected to you again.
Thanks,Kayle.
Here's the NEWS: Katrinka and Ryder are arriving in N.S. Aug.9th. Riley and Evan have a soccer tournament that week-end. So hope you guys will be able to come up to the valley to see them. They go back Aug. 15.
I'm soooo excited for you two!Great pictures!!!! What a wonderful trip!!!!!An experience of a lifetime!!!!!Cannot wait to hear all about it and see the hundreds of pics.
Showers here today so Dad and I hocked automatic water up to 6 - 30.lb pigs I bought to sell in Nov.
So now you can have beef and pork to eat.
Take care Dad and Mom D.

Sharon said...

Oh wow!!!!!!! Selena I am oh so jealous that you got to go to a First Division Premier game especially because it involved Barcelona. Fantastic! No wonder you were all smiles in the video.
Have a safe trip home.