Friday in Florence

Non-zoomed-in-photo of the red roofs of Florence 

Friday, after our cappuccini and cornetti, Star, Monique, Josh, and I went to the Domo. Since climbing the Dome is closed until Monday we climbed the Campanile /bell tower instead. It was a good 414 steps up to the top level, but the wonderful views of the city were well worth the protest from our leg muscles. The highlight at the top of the bell tower was definitely that we could not only locate the flat, but we called Ben on the phone and got him to go outside where we could see him waving to us. After a few Veronica-Mars-style-super-zoomed-in-photos we got some pictures with the dome in the background then headed back down the steps going against the current of tourists (who don’t all come from countries where they believe in deodorant).  

For lunch we got some delicious pizza from Gusto’s pizzeria which we ate on the steps in the piazza. In the afternoon we went with Josh to the library to read/ do homework/ check out the beautiful public library that puts Galway and Howard County libraries to shame, as much as I might love them. There was awesome art in random corners and a full cloister/courtyard deal in the center -- Another wonderful place to read in Florence. We made dinner for the boys since they were kind enough to host us (and it turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself, which I can because honestly most of the credit goes to Monique). With dinner we watched The Shining, because none of us had seen it and it’s one of those movies everyone references and you figure you should see. It was great, at times quite scary and at others laughable weird, I’m really glad I finally saw it. With the boy on his tricycle, the girls in the hall, and the “Here’s Johnny!”. We topped off the night by going out to Astor and Twice and enjoying some of Firenze at night.