Day 71- Florence - Tired of Churches and Museums
Monday, September 10th, 2018.
We spend the day in Florence. It was a gorgeous day and yet, we were all feeling blue. I was personally frustrated that no one wanted to visit churches or museums. I understand that we have seen so many but come on, we are in Florence! Everything started when Gregory didn't want to pay to go into Santa Croce, where Michelangelo, Galileo, and Rossini are buried. His reasoning was that it was nice to visit when it was free for the first 750 years, now it's not, plus paying for kids that do not want to go in, seemed like a waste. So we walked to see the Palazzo Vecchio.
Seeing Daniel so blue, I called for a family meeting. We sat on the stairs in the sculpture gallery in the piazza and I asked everyone if they really wanted to continue the trip. Mostly because every time we are tired, hungry or visiting a monument, I get complaints that no one asked the kids if they wanted to come to this trip, we forced them to come, etc. Gregory is just being quiet and not very active since we got to Italy. I guess we are all just tired and we need to find a place where we can just be in the house or in a place with no pressure to go do or see things.
Daniel said: "I feel like we don't have time to do anything." Sunshine agreed and also shared how much she missed her friends and her school. She said that her life was perfect and that she was enjoying herself before the trip. She also said that she wanted to continue the trip and that raised my hopes. Daniel said that he was just not interested in "rocks and buildings." He said he preferred nature and would love to see more animals. Gregory just wants to be in a place where he can hang out and write. I just long sometimes for a place to go and relax for more than a week.
After the meeting, we decided to walk along the river Arno towards the Ponte Vecchio. I don't know what power water has but it is very pretty and calming. We took some pictures and then I told everyone that I just wanted to go to the Duomo (Basilica Santa Maria delle Fiore) and see the inside. When we got there, the guard said that it was time to close. Ahhhh, I got so frustrated that I cried. I felt like we had wasted 3 days in Florence.
At that point, I decided that I was going to visit the museums and churches in Florence by myself and not drag anybody. We went back home quietly on the bus. That night, Daniel had another breakdown. It broke my heart and made me doubt if we were doing the right thing with this crazy adventure. I told him to relax and go to sleep, I just knew that we were all tired from not sleeping well in the basement. We wake up 2 or 3 times at night. Gregory has been complaining o back pain and has slept on a couch, on a bench, next...the floor.
I prayed for guidance!
We spend the day in Florence. It was a gorgeous day and yet, we were all feeling blue. I was personally frustrated that no one wanted to visit churches or museums. I understand that we have seen so many but come on, we are in Florence! Everything started when Gregory didn't want to pay to go into Santa Croce, where Michelangelo, Galileo, and Rossini are buried. His reasoning was that it was nice to visit when it was free for the first 750 years, now it's not, plus paying for kids that do not want to go in, seemed like a waste. So we walked to see the Palazzo Vecchio.
Seeing Daniel so blue, I called for a family meeting. We sat on the stairs in the sculpture gallery in the piazza and I asked everyone if they really wanted to continue the trip. Mostly because every time we are tired, hungry or visiting a monument, I get complaints that no one asked the kids if they wanted to come to this trip, we forced them to come, etc. Gregory is just being quiet and not very active since we got to Italy. I guess we are all just tired and we need to find a place where we can just be in the house or in a place with no pressure to go do or see things.
Daniel said: "I feel like we don't have time to do anything." Sunshine agreed and also shared how much she missed her friends and her school. She said that her life was perfect and that she was enjoying herself before the trip. She also said that she wanted to continue the trip and that raised my hopes. Daniel said that he was just not interested in "rocks and buildings." He said he preferred nature and would love to see more animals. Gregory just wants to be in a place where he can hang out and write. I just long sometimes for a place to go and relax for more than a week.
After the meeting, we decided to walk along the river Arno towards the Ponte Vecchio. I don't know what power water has but it is very pretty and calming. We took some pictures and then I told everyone that I just wanted to go to the Duomo (Basilica Santa Maria delle Fiore) and see the inside. When we got there, the guard said that it was time to close. Ahhhh, I got so frustrated that I cried. I felt like we had wasted 3 days in Florence.
At that point, I decided that I was going to visit the museums and churches in Florence by myself and not drag anybody. We went back home quietly on the bus. That night, Daniel had another breakdown. It broke my heart and made me doubt if we were doing the right thing with this crazy adventure. I told him to relax and go to sleep, I just knew that we were all tired from not sleeping well in the basement. We wake up 2 or 3 times at night. Gregory has been complaining o back pain and has slept on a couch, on a bench, next...the floor.
I prayed for guidance!
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| Note the excitement on the faces! |
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| Piazza Santa Croce |
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| Trying to smile |
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| Michelangelo graffiti outside the Palazzo Vecchio |
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| The view from our family meeting |
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| Bad feelings go away like water under the bridge |
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| We got some smiles! |
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| This place is old! |
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