Sex on the Duomo in Florence

Oh don't get your panties in a knot! This was a drink we were offered one night in Firenze. The offer caught me off guard but it still makes me laugh (do you get it? Like Sex on the Beach? Guess you had to be there...)


Florence is a lot smaller than Rome. 2 ish days were just enough because the city is pretty touristy. But we sure had fun...

• Exploring the iconic Duomo landmark. I was taken aback by how cold it was inside. "Is it really necessary for them to be pumping the AC on full blast right now?" I asked the girls. To which their straight - forward reply was, "that's not AC. That's the marble floors that's making this place ice box cold." Learn something new each day.
  


• During the afternoon and just as the sun was begin to descend we walked along a part of a river. I couldn't get over how sweet the houses were that hung over the edge of the bridge. (See: sweet bridge picture)
  


• The traveling trio concluded that we had better ways to spend 15 euro than pay to climb up the Duomo for a view of the city. Let's Go recommended that we could take a scenic hike up to the top of the Michelangelo Plaza and see the city for free. We were down for that and the panoramic view was certainly worth the steep hike. (Let's Go began to regain its trust with us.)
  
  
• Also at the top of the plaza there was a small church a bit off the beaten path and we made it just in time to hear local monks chanting. (Another plus 5 points for LG.)
  


• A visit to Florence of course would not have been complete without a stop to the Galleria dell' Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. The statue was bigger than I was expecting and it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that this beautiful piece of art was once just a marble block... Madness.
  


• Jess also celebrated her 21st in Florence! When we were out to dinner we saw a family sitting next to us who, upon completion of their meal, were brought what appeared to be a birthday dessert. Julia and I immediately shoosed Jess from the table, flagged down our waiter, batted our eyes, and in our best Italian tried to convey that it was our friends birthday (and we wanted a free dessert. Obvs.). The waiter just stared blankly at us, unable to grasp our request, and it was at that moment that we realized perhaps this American custom has not made its way across the ocean. We still had delicious dessert that night but we had to fork over the euros for it (sadly there was no Italian Happy Birthday singing that went down either).
  


• Julia's friend from college studied last semester in Florence and sent 2 restaurant recommendations our way: one for lunch and one for dinner. The lunch place was this small hole in the wall sandwich shop and they had the most delicious 3 euro sandwiches ever known to man. Tasty sandwich plus a sidewalk curb seat = traveling at its best. It was such a tasty find we came back the next day for more!

Next stop: Cinque Terre!!