Day 69 - Caldine - Florence - Fer

Saturday, September 8th, 2018.

Today we woke up at 10:00am. We slept in the basement so it was dark! We had a delicious cappuccino made by Lavinia, Andrea and Cinzia's daughter. After getting ready, Andrea took us for a scenic walk in the neighborhood. They live outside of Florence, about 10 minutes away in a tiny village called Caldine. We walked for about an hour and then we stopped at the supermarket to get some things that we needed for lunch. After lunch and resting, we went into Florence to meet with our nephew Fernando, who had lived with us for a year in the US. We were so happy to see him, especially Sunshine who said that finally, she was able to talk to someone her age who could understand her. I feel sad to see how much she misses her social life but I'm also sure that she will remember this trip for a lifetime!

We didn't do much but walk and admire the Cathedral Santa Maria delle Fiore which was finished in 1436. The famous dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. I'm only writing this information as a reminder of my Art History classes back in high school with an amazing teacher who probably influenced my love of art and history. We also saw the Baptistery and the Campanile (belltower) by Giotto. Downtown was crowded but it didn't matter, we were in Florence and with our nephew! We stopped a lot to say hi to people that our friends knew. We also stopped for a gelato for the ragazzi (kids). Closer to 8:00pm, Fernando had to go home for dinner. I felt bad that I couldn't invite him because it's not my house so I just hugged him and said goodbye. We headed home for a late dinner of pasta alla carbonara!


Meeting with cousin Fernando from Mexico.


Il Duomo







Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti

Going home





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