We got up and at 'em on Thursday morning as we thought today would be less crowded than Friday or a weekend and didn't want to wait until later in our time in Italy to go. The kids were disappointed to not go on a Friday for the alliteration of it (that's my DNA, or sure 🤣), but we were on the road before 9:30, anyway.
We took the A1 or Autostrata most of the way thanks to some construction near Siena. The two different routes would have taken the same amount of time without the road closure on the Siena route. The drive through Siena has been one of my favorite s so far, but there is something to be said for a straight wide road.
Today was a heavy walking day. And parking was tricky once we arrived. We had forgotten to ping Diana, our travel agent, in advance for parking advice. We accidentally drove into a restricted zone which might have lead to some costly tickets (which were still waiting to learn the fate of) but ultimately found decent parking and hit the bricks.
We pretty quickly arrived in the plaza where Michelangelo's David stands in situ. I was delighted that the kids noticed, pointed and told each of her what it was before I told them. Actually, they pointed out the fountain of Neptune first (which had structures around it forsaken repair work), thinking it was The David, but I was excited they (1) remembered that he was nearby and recalled enough details of my description of the plaza to guess it and (2) were excited about getting to see it. We talked about how the original had moved into a museum but that the precise replica stood in the original place/setting that the artist had put it and they were happy with that viewing. I was happy to not have to tripping trop through a crowded museum and hear the fussing so make it to the end to fight through a throng of tourists holding up theirs iPhones at the original. Seemed this experience kept the enthusiasm alive. Plus, there will be one Thank you of opportunity to drag them through museums and crowds in Paris and certainly at the Louvre. At 8, 6 and 1 year old, I'm picking my challenges carefully.
Lilly is getting quite good at eating at a table like a big girl and not displaying typical American kid manners. We're quite proud and amused with her willingness/ insistence that she gets to do this like everyone else. (Note her drinking sparkling water from the glass- standard fare these days 😆)
It was pretty hot today, getting up to 90 degrees and Joe's pedometer clocked us at 5.5 miles. So it was tough- but everyone was troopers.
We stopped for gelato- which was messy- and then continued our tour around the Duomo and Baptistry.
(Cont in next post)
We took the A1 or Autostrata most of the way thanks to some construction near Siena. The two different routes would have taken the same amount of time without the road closure on the Siena route. The drive through Siena has been one of my favorite s so far, but there is something to be said for a straight wide road.
Today was a heavy walking day. And parking was tricky once we arrived. We had forgotten to ping Diana, our travel agent, in advance for parking advice. We accidentally drove into a restricted zone which might have lead to some costly tickets (which were still waiting to learn the fate of) but ultimately found decent parking and hit the bricks.
We pretty quickly arrived in the plaza where Michelangelo's David stands in situ. I was delighted that the kids noticed, pointed and told each of her what it was before I told them. Actually, they pointed out the fountain of Neptune first (which had structures around it forsaken repair work), thinking it was The David, but I was excited they (1) remembered that he was nearby and recalled enough details of my description of the plaza to guess it and (2) were excited about getting to see it. We talked about how the original had moved into a museum but that the precise replica stood in the original place/setting that the artist had put it and they were happy with that viewing. I was happy to not have to tripping trop through a crowded museum and hear the fussing so make it to the end to fight through a throng of tourists holding up theirs iPhones at the original. Seemed this experience kept the enthusiasm alive. Plus, there will be one Thank you of opportunity to drag them through museums and crowds in Paris and certainly at the Louvre. At 8, 6 and 1 year old, I'm picking my challenges carefully.
Lilly is getting quite good at eating at a table like a big girl and not displaying typical American kid manners. We're quite proud and amused with her willingness/ insistence that she gets to do this like everyone else. (Note her drinking sparkling water from the glass- standard fare these days 😆)
It was pretty hot today, getting up to 90 degrees and Joe's pedometer clocked us at 5.5 miles. So it was tough- but everyone was troopers.
We stopped for gelato- which was messy- and then continued our tour around the Duomo and Baptistry.
(Cont in next post)
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