World Travelers, part 2

As promised, here is the second part to our trip.

Florence

To be completely honest, I didn't love the city of Florence. It was quite an experience just being there but compared to the rest of the cities it was probably my least favorite. I have heard, however, that Florence is better if you can stay there longer and go further out into the Tuscan region. Maybe next time! I absolutely loved the art that was in Florence, though. How could I not, it was only the birth place of the Renaissance! It was quite the experience to see "The David" statue in real life. Jared really wanted a picture of it but I wouldn't let him because you weren't supposed to.

Ponte Vecchio. This is the oldest bridge in Florence. All along it are quaint little jewelery shops. Except for the dirty water it actually is a very beautiful view. It's supposed to be a very romantic place. Legend has it if you take a lock and throw the key over the bridge that your love will last forever.

Does the statue in the back look familiar? It should, look closely. This was the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty. It's in the Santa Croce which is an absolutely gorgeous cathedral. Inside are the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Rossini. The frescoes by Giotto that are in the building are amazing A picture just doesn't give the church justice.

The lucky pig! I have no idea what the real name of this is but if you rub his snout while dropping a coin you will have good luck.

Check this out! While we were wondering the streets one night we saw these street painters. Can you believe this was done in the middle of the road in chalk! Not only is it impressive but it's one of my most favorite paintings so I had to take a picture of it.

I had to get a picture of this! You can't really tell, but for block after block there is an endless amount of these street markets. Great shopping!



On top of The Duomo, or the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In order to get to the top of this amazing building you have to climb 463 steps! Totally worth it.

ROME
One of the neatest things about Rome is that you'll be walking along then all of a sudden there's an excavation site of old ruins. You have no idea what old is until you go to a city like Rome.

My "WOW!" moment. Going to the Pantheon was the thing that I was most anticipating. I know I've been using the word amazing a lot but that's the closest thing that comes to mind when describing this magnificent sight. I mean look how absolutely gorgeous the interior is! That's right I'm even hugging one of the Pantheon's columns (Just to give you an idea of how big that column was...my arms didn't even come close to reaching half of it.)

Trevi Fountain. Legend is that if you throw a coin in this huge wishing well you are sure to return to Rome. We'll see if it's true....



Taking a breather on the Spanish Steps.

We went shopping with Matt & Patty (Jared's brother and his wife). Patty and I really wanted an Italian Nativity set. We found this store that was completely full of them. This is the family that runs and owns the store. They were so sweet and nice. They told us about the name of the street in the next picture. That's right...a street named Tonioli!

The Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.




St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Here we go again...another 500 steps for this view.

Have I mentioned that the food was really good because it was....it really was!