We pinch ourselves when we wake up. Not only are we in Florence, but our host is providing us with such wonderful breakfasts to start the day. Maurizio is the best!

DAY 1 - How else can we say it? Florence is amazing . The architecture and light are stunning, the people are charming, and the food is . . . well, delicioso. The plan was to spend our first day wandering through the streets of Florence, then the 2nd day climbing the Duomo and visiting museums. We are a five minute drive from the tram line, which is a ten minute ride from the center of the city. From there we make a brief side trip to the public market, then past the Biblioteca Medici, to the Piazza San Giovanni. This is one of THE piazzas in Florence. Located in front of the main Cathedral (with its Duomo and accompanying Baptistery), it's hard to overstate just how stunning the architecture and light are here. Pictures do not do it justice.

From there we walked through the neighborhood where Dante once lived and onto the Piazza della Signoa (another one of THE piazzas in Florence). The statues in this piazza, including a replica of Michelangelo's David, are amazing. The Piazza della Signora also fronts the Ufizzi, a museum filled with the most beautiful Renaissance paintings and sculpture. Add to this the people and Palazza Vecchio - it's hard not to be overwhelmed. Taking a tip from fellow AirBnB lodgers Kym & Fremke, we continue our walking tour east to the Piazza (and Basilica) San Croce, then onto the Mercato Santa Ambrosio, where we had a wonderful lunch at a lively little diner inside the market - all for under 20€ for 2!

We spent the afternoon walking along the Arno, then crossed the Ponte San Trinita and walked up to the Boboli Gardens . We skip the 20€ price to walk through the garden (which includes admission to several museums), since we had no desire to be inside on such a lovely afternoon. Instead, we wandered back down to the southern shore of the Arno and up the long, steep stariway that climbs to the Piazzale Michelangelo. Perched atop a hill on the southeastern edge of the city, this grand piazza provides breathtaking views of Florence. After a brief rest (and several photos), we climbed back down the hill and cross the Arno to watch the sunset.

Italians tend to eat dinner late - starting at 9 pm. Unfortunately, we are usually ready to head home by then. Fortunately, we had heard about a custom called "appertivo", the Florentine equivalent of happy hour - which starts between 6 and 7 pm. So, for a small charge (7€ each) you get a drink and all the appetizers you can eat. The appertivo we had included pasta, salad, crustati, couscous, and lots of other delighful morsels.

DAY 2 - Rain was forecast for today, so we had made reservations to tour the Ufizzi during the morning. The sun was out by the time we finished our self-guided tour of the Ufizzi, so we walked to the Ponte Vecchio and crossed over the Arno. We stopped for lunch in a quiet part of the San Spirito neighborhood. As it turned out, we did not need the rain gear we were carrying, so we took advantage of the afternoon siesta to head back to Maurizio's apartment, drop off the umbrellas and take a short break.

At dusk we headed back to see the Duomo, the Piazza della Signora and Ponte Vecchio in the early evening light. We stopped to watch the sunset over the Arno one last time, before heading back to the bar we had stopped at the night before. Again we had wine with our "appertivo" dinner. It was a tasty end to our first trip to Florence.

Tomorrow is our last breakfast at Maurizio's (we'll miss him!). Then it is on to Tuscany.