Our European adventure begins : Florence and the beauty of Tuscany

We departed Lugano for Florence, Italy on Friday, October 26. Note: If a person blocks the door to your train car and grabs your bag, and they are wearing grey sweatpants and a hoodie, they are not on the railway payroll. These little helpers are looking for a handout after they help you with your luggage. However, they are not unpleasant if you do not give them anything. Also, if a young girl finds a gold wedding band right in front of you, says "oh look, it's real gold . . . "you keep it for good luck" --- get ready --- because in about 5 seconds she is going to turn back around and ask you for a handout. Again, they are not unpleasant if you don't give them anything, but just something to think about when you are in areas filled with tourists.

We arrived in Florence around noon, left our bags at the hotel and headed out to find lunch. We navigated through the souvenir gauntlet along the River Arno, then turned left and navigated through the jewelry gauntlet on the Ponte Vecchio. Finding a nice little cafe north of the Ponte Vecchio, we ate a wonderful lunch and enjoyed a cappuccino as a finish to a fine meal. The temperature was in the upper 60's so we just enjoyed a leisurely walk around the various piazzas and wandered into the Basilica of St. Mary of the Flower. This Duomo was started in 1296 and completed in 1436. The basilica is a cathedral since it is the home base of an Archbishop. The exterior is just as beautiful as the interior, with colors of greens and pale pinks.

Saturday it rained nearly all day. However, it was a warm fall day and the rain did not deter the tourists or the shoppers. The piazzas were a sea of umbrellas, so everywhere you stepped you needed to negotiate your umbrella into the mix. Throughout the day, Trudy's recently coiffed hair transformed from the Jane Fonda look to the 1980's Tina Turner rock helmet and finally to the Peter Fonda "Easy Rider" coiffe. Since there were no mirrors in the piazzas, she enjoyed the day uninhibited.

Sunday was rainy and only in the 50's. However, we had pre-purchased our tickets for the Uffizzi museum. Therefore, we were able to spend a really enjoyable day viewing the sculptures and paintings of the masters. Pictures were not allowed, so nothing to share.

On Monday we went to the train station to pre-purchase our tickets to Zurich. Returning to the hotel we accidentally stumbled across the Laurentian Library which was designed by Michaelangelo and which contains over 11,ooo volumes of ancient script owned by the Medici family. This was a pleasant surprise and the exhibits were very informative.

Here are just a few more pictures of a beautiful city where you will see incredible works of art around every corner.