A garden in the Middle

Thanks to all the people who remembered my birthday and for all your "Happy Birthday's"...it was very special. I was treated to a HUGE cup of gelati last night (flavors: rice, mint, peach, and coffee) from a place called Vivali's, which I hear is the best place IN THE WORLD!!! Can you believe it, I just ate at the best gelati place in the world, according to the gelati critics. It was very very yummy...

We followed the large amount of gelati with a long walk up to Piazza Michelangelo, a lookout above the city. It was nighttime and it was beeeautiful! We sat and watched the city for quite some time, until I realized I was covered in mosquito bites and had to take cover before I was completely eaten alive :)

Today was very very warm...perhaps the warmest day since we've been here. But I don't mind the sunshine one little bit! We visited Boboli Gardens, a large GARDEN IN THE MIDDLE of the huge city of Florence enclosed by a wall and looking out on the entire city. It was built and lived in by the Medici family, the famous family who founded Florence. The grounds were amazing and I never expected a garden in the middle of this crazy city. It was like a different world inside...with cyprus trees planted in 1569, the famous "Neptune's Fountain", a fortress, and world-class porcelin collection (although that certainly wasn't the perk of the park) and many other amazingly fairy tale-like sights.

We walked--no hiked--for about 4 hours inside the park before our tired and sore feet told us it was time to leave. But, it was a beautiful sunshiney day spent in a GARDEN IN THE MIDDLE of Florence!