On the way to Florence we had a quick stop off at the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Pretty funny to see!
Florence! We were only here for a short time but it was a great time! When we arrived we got ready for our dinner at Le Something which was our first introduction to Italian food and atmosphere! There was soooo much food, awesome company, Italian opera singer, an accordion player, another guy that sang hits from the past and dancing. It is definitely one of my too 5 night EVER! Big call! After dinner we went a club called Space which really was lame compared to the good times at dinner! No it was ok if you're into that sort of thing. The next morning before heading to Rome we went into Florence for a walking tour and some free time. We started off with the Statue of David - impressive except it wasn't the real one. The museum that now holds the real one was closed. The building behind David in the photos is Florence's old city hall (also known as Palazzo Vecchio) was once a palace and also had Michelangelo living here at one time. This place is also where the first telescope was invented. Then it was off to here the story of Perseus. Very cool dude! We visited the Basilica of St Mary which was very impressive. This church had many mosaics which was completed with 24 carat gold! We also went to a little shop to see leather demonstration. Florence is famous for its leather and jewelry. We bought a nomination bracket which has all the flags of the countries we had visited and a puzzle ring. These were first designed by a jeweler for a Turkish king. He put it on his wife's finger when he went away to ensure he remained faithful. If the ring was removed it would come undone and she wouldn't know how to put it back together again. I just use sticky tape :p
We went over the oldest bridge in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio. It was once a fish market but the ruler at the time hated it so he had it lined with jewelry shops! Woohoo! There is 48 I them there today...or 42?