After about 2 hours on the bus we stopped in the medieval town of San Gimignano. This village was 'showing off' at its worst according to our tour director Arnoud. He says each person would try to build a bigger tower to show they had more wealth and power than their neighbor. At the town's height of prosperity there were about 70 towers built. Now only about 15 remain. The biggest, Torre Grosse, provides an amazing view of the country side. Some of our kids climbed it but most just shopped and ate lunch. Then another hour on the bus to Florence.
Our Florence hotel is right in the old town and only about a 5 minute walk to the Duomo. We took a guided tour and then had dinner. Our guide showed us the huge Duomo, Maria del Fiore, the baptistry with the 'Gates of Paradise,' Piazza Republica, and Santa Maria Croce. The last is one of my favorite churches with beautiful frescos and the tombs of many important Florentines. It is one of the places I will go tomorrow on my free time. There is a big square in front of this church and it has an unusual arena set up there. We always hear about a huge 'football' game that takes place every year that seems to be more warfare than soccer. Today as we walked by there were horses and knights in armor. June 24 is the celebration of the patron saint of Florence and there are medieval tournaments, parties and fireworks to celebrate. I'm pretty sure some of the boys will use their free time to go back and watch the jousting.
The kids then had free time. Some wandered the town, others went to sleep, and some were at the laundry mat doing their wash with me. We even had a little lesson on using the machines and how to do laundry. The learning opportunities on this trip never end!
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