Florence: Friday

On Friday, we made a purposeful effort to get around a bit earlier.  We still ducked across the street to have brioche at our "regular" bar.  We then headed into the center of Firenze for our trip up the Cupola of the Duomo. While Amy stayed on the ground with Viviana, the rest of us (Maya and Milena included) headed up the 463 steps that lead to the top of the dome (via a path around the frescoes that decorate the interior of the dome).  It was a gorgeous day, and we had fabulous views across the city.  The girls were full of energy (I have it on good authority) and both made the trek up and down without any complaints.

After the climb and return, we headed to a lunch place Amy had spied.  It was tucked in the alleys off of the Piazza del Duomo.  We had a delicious lunch that prominently featured mushrooms among other many fresh ingredients.

After lunch, some of us did some shopping while others of us rented a scooter.  This was purely for convenience; we wanted to head out of town, but GP and Amy's car only seats 7 people.  This plus two people on a scooter covered all 9 of our party.  After renting the scooter (and waiting out some rain), we headed to Fiesole for views back over Firenze and a lovely hill top dinner.  Even though parking the car in Fiesole was a nightmare (the scooter, not so much), we had a nice time.