A Day in Florence, or That Time Mom and I Accidently Climbed the Duomo

Ciao da Italia! Mom and I arrived safely in Florence yesterday, after a very early start to the day. We checked in, walked around a bit, then meet with Kim! She’s doing great, and has had a fantastic time in Italy! She showed us here dorm, then we got gelato- yum!

Please note the change of attire- it’s much hotter and drier than the past two countries we’ve been in! L

Today, Mom and I got up early to walk around and see some of the sights of Florence. Our plan was to see the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fore ( see below) and admire its Duomo from afar- the big circle part of it.

However, as it turns out, there are two lines to get in: One to just get into the cathedral and one to clime the 460 some-odd stairs to the top of the Duomo. Guess which one Mom and I accidently ended up in? At first, it wasn’t too bad- it was cool enough since it was morning, and we got to see the beauty of the church and dome.

And then this happened.

And kept happening for a very, very long time.  And we were in long skirts, due to the church’s regulations. Yeah. At least we got our workout done? ;) However, there is a happy ending- the view of Florence from the top was fantastic and was totally worth the trek:

Of course, then we had to come back down:

After recovering and having a tasty lunch at a nearby pizzeria, Mom and I took a walking tour of the city. The travel guide Rick Steves (as seen on PBS) has recorded free audio tours of various places in Italy- today we took a stroll through the Renaissance sights of the city with our trusty iPods in tow. J It was very nice, and we learned a lot more than if we had tried to do it on our own!

Then it was back to the hotel to cool down and take  a siesta. After a nice cool break, we once again met up with Kim (who had just finished climbing the  Duomo, although she did it on purpose J )for a very yummy dinner at a restaurant she’d discovered during her time here- always wonderful to spend time with her!