Day 6 - Florence

We departed Uzzano early in the morning and got back to Florence around 10. We said our goodbyes to Myra as she had a plane to catch to Croatia early afternoon. After purchasing our tickets back to Rome we checked in our backpacks again and took to the city. We would be returning to Rome at 4:00 so we had about 6 hours in Florence which actually was the perfect amount of time.

We were both a little hungry, so before we started the day, we stopped at a shop to get a couple sandwhiches (yes at 10:00am) while Michael ordered, I took pictures of the gelato.

Yum

Double Yum

The first thing we wanted to do was cross the Arno River and head up the hill to Michaelangelo's Piazza that is said to offer spectacular views over Florence along with a lovely walk up the mountain. It didn't disappointed. The hike up was quite tiring, but we managed. There were lots of steps and steep hills, but it was the cutest most pleasant little pathway. The views from the top were incredible. We saw about 10 Asian Brides and their bridal parties taking pictures. The oddest thing about it was that it was a Monday morning. Anyhow, congrats to them! We sat for a while and enjoyed the view and walked around the old city walls up more hills till we got to an old fort and more views. I actually don't know how it happened, but I didn't take a single picture of the old walls, the old fort or the view from there. But it was lovely.

Walking up the hill

View over Florence

Walking back down the steps

You can see in the pictures of the view a big dome. This is The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or as it is more commonly known, "The Duomo". I couldn't get a good picture of it up close from the outside because it was too huge to fit in my camera frame, but I didn't try real hard either. We wanted to go inside and it was beautiful. It doesn't hold a candle to the wind against St. Peters Cathedral in Rome, but I don't think anything could.

Duomo

Inside the Duomo

Before going to Rome we had already decided we wanted to Light a candle at St. Peters Cathedral in honor of Michaels Aunt Corlis who passed away last spring from breast cancer. She and her second son, Kyle, traveled to Rome and Croatia a couple years before she passed away. On our first visit to Rome there were candles where you could do this, but there were none this time. So we had to pass, but decided to light a candle for her here, in the Duomo in Florence.

In memory of Corlis Pate.
You are missed every day.

By now, we were getting hungry and since it was such a beautiful day, we opted for a cafe overlooking the Uffizi Gallery and a wonderful bustling square. I had delicious lasagna and Michael had...hmm I forgot! Mine was so tasty I didn't really pay attention to Michaels! I do remember he enjoyed it though.

My view from Lunch.
I caught the lady in the background about put food in her mouth.
I'm sure she wouldn't approve of this picture.

My side view from the cafe

Me and the sculpture of the Rock Hard Abs man.
There was a replica of "The David" next to this fountain, but I didn't get a picture.
I was more drawn to this guy, he seemed more "Manly"
But since the David is modeled after a young King David, that only makes sense.

Many would probably think it was sac religious to be in Florence and not visit one of the great art galleries, but we didn't. Neither of us had an overwhelming urge to hop inside Academia to see the "real" David. I'm sure it is amazing, but perhaps next time we find ourselves in Florence we will. Finally, it was time for some wondering around with no plans before we headed back to Rome.

Street Scene.

In the end, I really enjoyed Florence. It was a nice change of pace from busy, big and crazy Rome. I know a person could spend months in Florence, or just a couple days. There is so much to do and see, but it is a small town. I had never really given Florence much thought besides what my friends that have been there have said. They always loved it. I never had the dream of going to Florence, but I am certainly glad the opportunity presented itself. I hope we make it back there eventually. It was a cool and very pretty place.

Now, back to Rome. We caught our train and both slept the whole way. When we got back we realized we had no idea how to get back to Myra's place and we didn't bring a map of Rome with us. When we came to the main station we came by bus and didn't pay attention to where we were. We decided to take a gamble, pick a direction, start walking and see if we could figure it out. I suppose all our insane walking paid off that day, because within 5 minutes of walking we knew exactly where we were and how to get to Myra's house. Lucky us! For dinner we made the left over pasta we had bought a few days ago, relaxed and talked about what to do our final day in Rome.

Adopted from Guatamala? Can You Help?

A quick break from our regular scheduled program!!
This is a friend of a friend (in two different directions)
I'm know noone that directly reads my blog will be able to help with this, but if you know anyone perhaps you could let me know?
I'm just reposting a post. Here it is:

Participants Needed!!!

My name is Stephanie Capshaw, and I am a pediatric occupational therapist and professor in the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, a doctoral student in Occupational Therapy at the University of St. Augustine, as well as a fellow adoptive parent of a child adopted from Guatemala (whew!). I am interested in looking at the prevalence of symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) in children adopted from Guatemala. I am looking for parents of children who were adopted from Guatemala and whose children are now between the ages of birth to 3 years old, regardless of whether or not they have been diagnosed with SPD or demonstrate symptoms of SPD.

If you would like to participate in this study, please email me your name, address, and child’s date of birth. I will mail you the research instrument with a pre-paid return envelope. Based on the results, I will be happy to make recommendations for a consultation with an occupational therapist in your area, should the results warrant such a recommendation. Strict confidentiality will be maintained at all times throughout the course of the research project unless law requires disclosure. A random code number, rather than your name, will be used to identify information you give us. Only members of the immediate project staff will have direct access to this information. Reports at scientific meetings or in scientific journals will not include any information which identifies you as a participant in this study. Your research records, just like any hospital records, however, may be subpoenaed by court order or may be inspected by federal regulatory authorities. Please feel free to pass this invitation to other adoptive parents from Guatemala.Thanks so much!Sincerely,Stephanie Capshaw, MA, OTRDoctoral Candidate, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences(915) 747-7269scapshawotr@hotmail.com

Day 5 - Uzzano

Saturday was a welcome change from our busy pace of the past few days. We had no plans besides to bum around the amazing house. We were the first one's up, but Jimena followed not too far behind us. She made us coffee and fed us cereal, crackers and some of her homemade orange marmalade. YUM! It is made from the same oranges that she made the orange liqueur from.

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Over breakfast we chatted about health and fitness stuff. Her and her hubby (which we didn't get to meet because he was out of town) keep active and seem to have a lot of fun doing it just like us. As we finished breakfast she said we could do some "sport". It included bringing in wood for the big fireplace. So, we were off to the garden to pick up lots of wood! Michael and I lugged in the big pieces by the door and she went off with her wheelbarrow to gather lots of little pieces. This was a fun and different way to start the morning!

Morning Sport

The fire in the fireplace

After the fire was built Michael and I wanted to walk around the garden and the area so off we went. Oh, I should introduce the resident dog. His name is blackie, is nine years old, and is oh so sweet. He is actually the same age Hendrix would be if he were still alive! He followed us around the yard from a distance, almost as if he were curious as to where we were going, but as we approached the gate to leave, he quickly caught up to us as he obviously wanted to come with us. We tried to get him back in the gate before we went out, but he would have none of it. He is a slow walking easy paced dog so the walk was simple with him though we had to keep looking back to make sure he was still with us. He apparently goes out for 4 or 5 days at a time. There have been times Jimena and Andrea have found him down the mountain in Pescia. He has even gone to the hospital down there to be fed!! He was a fun dog and told us all about the mountains!

Wait for me!

Lazily Walking Along

View - I like all the old wine barralls

Me

After our little walk, Blackie was exhuasted

The home we stayed in was amazing, both inside and out. I didn't actually take many pictures inside the house, so the pictures from outside will have to do. They are hoping to get a Bed and Breakfast up and running as early as next summer! So if you're ever in this area and looking for a place to stay, this is a great place to take your business! :)

Entry Way

Back of House

Front of House

I fell in love with this orange tree and orange wall. The smaller tree that you can see branches of is an olive tree. Our room window was the one on the right above the tree.

Michael in the garden

Side view from Garden

We retreated inside just in time to visit with Myra. Jimena made us a delicious lunch of pasta, salad and cheese. We even tried Pumpkin Pasta! I had never heard of it before and it was quite good. There is a way to eat cheese in Italy, you put honey on it! Surprisingly it is VERY good. We had tried it the night of Myra's party and got to do it again here. This time, with Jimenas' homemade honey! Wow, is there nothing this woman doesn't do?

Feed Me Michael!

After our late lunch it was time for a nap and again some more sitting around and chatting before dinner. Michael and I sat on a bench outside admireing the view as the sun was setting, and blackie came to join us. The day had been pretty foggy so I couldn't get a decent picture of the magnificent view during the day or at night. Nor, could I see it as it should have been seen.

Pretty

The boys watching the sunset
Get away from me crazy woman!

Was that really so bad?

Jimena took us to a local restaurant for dinner which was amazing. We had pastas, appetizers, homemade wine, fresh home grown olives and cake for dessert. YUM! We had walked to and from the restaurant and when we arrived back home, we crashed. Sunday would be an early morning back to Florence.

(As a sidenote, we arrived home last night from Italy. Michael left Denmark this morning and is in the air somewhere between Germany and Dallas. I leave first thing tomorrow for Dallas. It has been a busy couple days!)

Day 4 - Florence

We slept in on Friday and had an easy morning. We got packed up and the three of us headed to the main train station where we would catch our 12:30 train up to Florence. We had never been to Florence and were excited to visit. I have had so many friends talk about how much they loved Florence so I was nervous that perhaps I had some high expectations of the city. It was a quick 90 minute trip through some pretty scenery.

Excited as we were rolling through Tuscany

Scenery from the Train

Myra on the train

When we arrived we checked our bags at the station(because this wasn't our final destination) and headed out to the city. Florence was very pretty and very small. We ate lunch and Myra guided us around to give us a good overview and feel for the city for when we would return alone on Sunday. Myra also wanted to check out a few shops she had visited before. One of the shops was a great little leather shop called, "Roberta". The man working was so incredibly nice and him and Myra hit it off like they were best friends. He showed us pictures of his home and his roses and was so friendly. He even invited Myra to come see his home in Tuscany next time she is in the area. Michael and I kinda watched from the sidelines as they chatted, but he gave me a 30% discount on a bag I bought too! YAY!

The Shop

I got the green one in the middle

From here we walked around a lot and saw the city.

Arno River and Ponte Vecchio

Arno River at Sunset

More Sunset

We were staying the night with a colleague of Myra's in a town called “Uzzano” which is outside of Pescia. Jimena offered to host us for the weekend. The plan was to meet Jimena at the Florence train station at about 7:30 and catch the 8:00 train to Pesica. She never came but we hopped on the train anyways. As we were on the train we were hoping she hopped on a different car. After some text messages we found out that her train was running late and she would be taking the next train out of Florence and meet us at the Pescia train station an hour after we got there. She wouldn’t arrive until about 10:15pm. The first 30 minutes of our wait was quiet and uneventful, but then stumbled in a double fisting box wine drinking young Italian guy named, “Lucca”. He was hilarious. A few minutes after Lucca started “chatting with us” an older gentleman joined our conversation. He was sweet and it was entertaining to watch him and Lucca talk. They both spoke with Myra since she knows quite a bit of Italian and Michael and I just stared blank faced at them when they would speak directly to us. When Jimena arrived she started laughing as she told us she was worried we would be sitting in the station bored and tired. I think we surprised her. When she started driving us to her home, I was surprised because as we started climbing up what seemed to be a mountain. I had imagined her house sitting on top of a little bitty hill overlooking the city, but we kept climbing up and up and up the mountain. She lives at the very top and even at night her view was incredible. We could see all the lights from the small city and neighboring towns. I was anxious to see what everything looked like in the daylight.

Before bed we were treated to a couple little shot size glasses of homemade orange liqueur made from the orange tree outside. It was delightful!

Crazy Italian Friends

Jimena and Michael with the biggest basket of fruit I've ever seen

Bella Roma Day 3

Day 3 was Thursday. We got up and out about 9AM and walked over to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. This was the only BIG thing we didn't get to on our first trip so it was the most important thing on our list this time. The line was pretty short and we were inside with tickets within about 5 minute of arriving. We shamelessly walked through the museum quickly to make it to the Sistine Chapel because we saw hordes of people arriving as we got in the door. We figured if we lingered to long it would be unpleasant inside. Which it was kinda anyway, but oh well. I had always read that getting to the Sistine Chapel took a long time because it was a far walk, and it was...but we did see some beautiful things on the way and did stop walking from time to time when something caught our eye.

We finally made it to the chapel and I was immediately surprised by how tall it was. The room itself is pretty small, but the work in the chapel is amazing. We stayed a bit staring up at the ceiling and left, and left the museum as well.

Bad Picture of the Sistine Chapel

We also wanted to revisit the inside of St. Peters Cathedral so that was next on our list. It was still as gorgeous, huge and as ornate as I remember it. My absolute favorite sculpture I have ever laid eyes on has a home inside the Cathedral. It is Michaelangelo's "Pieta" which is Jesus laying in Mary's lap after the Crucifixion. I couldn't begin to explain how incredible the inside of this cathedral is. There are so many little interesting things here that are so easy to miss.

The Pieta

St. Peters Cathedral

The story goes, that if you rub St. Peters foot you are absolved of all your sins.
So, now, I'm sin free! ;)

We weren't really sure where we wanted to go next, so we choose Piazza del Popolo. This was another spot we actually tried to see on our last visit but took a wrong turn and ended up way far so scratched it. When we got there, it was so much bigger then I imagined, we sat and rested our legs for a bit before heading back to Myra's to get ready for the party she was throwing.

Piazza del Popolo

Michael Reading the Map

Myra had invited a lot of her colluges over along with two of her friends visiting Rome from Greece. She works with a lot of really nice people that were an array of characters that were interesting to chat with. There was lots of yummy food and prosecco . After all of her colluges and friends from Greece left, the only people still here were the three of us, 4 interns and 1 friend that was visiting one of the interns. We all sat around and talked, drank and ate and had a great time. They didn't leave till about midnight! We had a blast. It was a good thing our train to Florence didn't leave the next morning until 12:30!

Myra being a great host.

Myra dancing with Sergio

This guy, was hilarious. He was the happiest and most smiley person I've ever met.
Sergio

The four interns who were so incredibly nice.
Roberto, Sergio, Myra, Dominica (who is from NYC) and Alessandro

The "M's" Michael, Myra and Michael