from a little, loud place on Via della Orto

We are in Florence, Firenze, the renaissance art heart of Italy. We arrived on Tuesday after a rather traumatic departure from Sant'Agata to Sorrento to Naples where we caught another of the elite trenitalia trains that make Italy travel so pleasant.

This city is everyone's favorite so far. Maybe because it is a bit warmer and we aren't shivering in many layers. I have bought a pair of gloves with the fingers off for keeping warm. (Very convenient having the fingers off, you don't have to remove them every time you have to count money or something.) Makes me feel like a Charles Dickens character.

Yes, we have seen Michelangelo's David, today, in fact. We had a grand tour of the Uffizzi Gallery first and saw most of the pieces we had studied. It is true, seeing them in person is different from the pictures on the computer screen. Mostly their incredible size amazed me. Many of them take up entire walls. (I was wondering how in the world they got them into the rooms!)

I will write more soon about the special aspects of this amazing city where we live on the south side of the Arno. Crossing the river on foot and seeing the multilple bridges on both sides is really cool--just cann't think of a better way to describe it.

What else? Impressions: over 50% of the people smoke, the sidewalks are very narrow and you may have to step off into the street for construction. Dogs proliferate, on leashes of course--but there are no expectations that you kerb your dog, so the pedestrians must watch their step. (I learned the hard way.)

Well, my time is up, but I'll be back soon. Now that I have found this place.

Thanks for your prayers--again--they make a lot of difference.