Under the Tuscan Sun...and still not sunburned

Ciao L'Italia!!
What an experiene to be updating my blog from one of the greatest cities in the world. All I can say is, I LOVE Florence. I LOVE Italy. It's everything I ever imagined.

The picture is me and Rachael on our first real day in Florence with our friends Jimmy and Juli. We are on a hotel Terrace and in the background you can see the Duomo. Later in the day, we were taken around Florence by our charming young Italian friend Davide, whose church we will be going to tomorrow morning. We have had a blast so far. We are staying literally feet across from Michaelangelo's house. We are in a palazzo (apartment bldg) previously owned by the Medicis.

There is so much to tell, so much I don't think it would be possible to do all in one sitting. I'll just tell you that we are having an amazing time. The food is wonderful, the people incredibly gracious, and the scenery is indescribable. (Click on the continue link to finish reading my post. I don't want this to take up the whole page.)

Well, here are a few more pics. The first is of Juli, Rachael, Lorenza and I at Lorenza's work (a great little Italian shoe store). She's a very smiley person, I swear.

This is me today in just a tiny fraction of the Giardini Boboli (Boboli Gardens) at the Palazzo Pitti, once owned by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, and the Medici family. Unbelievable!!

Okay, now click on the rest of the story...

We had the most insane travel schedule. Neither Rachael nor I slept at all on Monday night, and we drove to the fly away at 5 am Tuesday morning. Three flights, two bus rides, one train ride and many rude and unaccomodating people later, we arriving in beautiful Florence. It's made the miserable, sleep-deprived travel completely worth it.

We will be in Tuscany (Florence) until July 22, when we'll leave for Venice. We'll be in Venice until the 25th, when we'll leave for Rome, and on the afternoon of the 29th we'll be back in London. In Italy, the time difference from home is 9 hours, from London, it's 8. Just FYI.

The history here and the art is something that you'll only fully get a taste for once you visit. It is unbelievable to see all of the art and sculptures and buildings that I had only read about or seen pictures of. It's like seeing things in color or 3-D, viewing them as they should always be but never have been by these eyes.

I love you all. Hope you're doing well. We are cherishing every minute here. I'll try to update again in a few days. I'm having so much fun and am so busy that it's hard to find time to get to an internet cafe. Until then,

The American finally a little more in touch with her Italian side. :)
Emily