Firenze ay Vinezia

Well Florence and the entire Tuscan region has been fantastic! I loved Rome but I seem to have a very soft spot for Florence and me and my family simply love it. From the the very first night in Florence we had the best meal we had since coming to Italy and really love the feel of the place. We took a day trip out to Sienna which is a very traditional medieval town and then San Gimignano a city with 14 surviving medieval towers of nearly 60 originals, and lastly into Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. The next day we spent shopping and taking a bus tour around the city. The shopping in Florence is amazing! They have tons of shops big and small, unique boutiques and a gigantic market where you can barter for great deals on Italian specialties like leather. The day after we went to see David and other famous Renaissance works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and the lot.

We then headed up to Venice for New years eve to present. We got off the train and took a water bus to Saint Marc's Square then went through the maze of side streets to get to our hotel. The hotel has an entrance right on the Grand Canal and is a beautiful 5 star this time round. Venice is great, there are no cars on the island part and most of the streets cars could not fit down any way. You truly feel like you are in a maze and everywhere you turn you can find a new surprise. We have been getting around great however and the bridges and water ways help keep mark. We spent new years eve in the giant Saint Marc's Square in our newly acquired gum boots. Us along with hundreds of other waded into the foot of flooding water at high tide to bring in the new year with live music and fire works. The experience was bizarre and so wonderful. The following new years day was spent relaxing plenty and doing some more exploring of Venice. Tomorrow we will tour some of the sights and palaces around the city.

Hope you all a very happy New Year!

Mac