Florence, Italy

With less than 2 weeks notice, Max and I planned a rather impromptu trip to Florence! With this being our last year in France, we've been keeping a closer eye on airline deals to places we still want to visit. When the chance to go to Florence came up, we jumped on it. Here is the city as seen from Piazzale Michelangelo.

On the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo, we crossed over Ponte Vecchio (above) which spans the Arno River. Ponte Vecchio is Florence's most famous bridge and the only bridge in the city that wasn't destroyed by the Germans in WWII. It's now lined with gold and silver shops and lots of tourists.

From the Piazzale Michelangelo, we walked over to the San Miniato Church. Legend has it that the martyred St. Minias walked up to this spot AFTER being decapitated on the banks of the Arno River. I don't know, I had a hard enough time waking up the hill, being out of shape, but with my head attached....

We were fortunate enough to have found a bed and breakfast only a half a block away from the Duomo and Campanile (above). It's not like us to stay in the middle of things but we made an exception for Florence. There is no better way to get around this town then on foot.

This is the front of the Duomo. Its facade is covered in white, green, and pink Tuscan marble. The outside is far more impressive than the inside.

The cathedral was actually built with a hole in the roof where the doom would someday be built. The architect Brunelleschi actually cut into the dome of the Pantheon in Rome to see how it was constructed and from there he constructed the dome of the Duomo.

After visiting the Uffizi Gallery, we walked by the Palazzo Vecchio (above). This used to be the city's Town Hall, and residence of the Medici family. Michelangelo's David stood outside the entrance for about 300 years before being moved to the Accademia. A copy now stands in its place. We later visited the Accademia to see the original David statue. It was amazing.

Food is one of the other reasons we wanted to go back to Italy! We had such amazing meals in Italy and we knew the cuisine in Florence would not disappoint. We ate as much gelato as we could too. We really liked this gelateria called Grom and went there twice in one day and were served by the same guy both times. That's not embarrassing is it? I say no. I think if given the chance, we'd make one more trip back to Italy.

Annivarsaire de Mariage

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on March 10! We wanted to do something special since it might be the last anniversary we celebrate while living in France. There is this amazing restaurant here in Chambery called La Maniguette.

It's a small restaurant with a small menu (3-4 choices for appetizers, entrées and desserts), a huge wine list and delicious food. We've been fortunate enough to have eaten there a couple of times before with people from Max's work, (thank you if you’re reading this!) so there was no doubt that this is where we wanted to go to celebrate our day. The food was unforgettable and our dessert plates were even decorated for the occasion. What a nice surprise! We just might have to find another reason to go back…like Cinco de Mayo, or Administrative Professional's Day. Just saying.