Early morning rising, clean up the apartment overlooking the market square, then taxi to our rental car office. Not sure if it was being hurried, halfway through our European vacation or just so excited to see the Italian countryside but Jena left her backpack in the taxi. FIND MY IPHONE NOW! Tracking her iPad, Cameron and Jena took off on a sprint, then a run flooded by a jog, almost 2 miles to where the taxi was waiting for his next fare, there was the backpack:) What an exciting morning, its going to be a great day in Tuscany.
Jena found us an awesome location for a Tuscany countryside cooking experience. Jule’s Kitchen, we were greeted by Jule’s herself and brought into her beautiful kitchen. She taught us about Italian spices, pasta technique and most importantly to enjoy the experience. Ravilo from scratch was a family favorite.
Wanting to add some dynamic accounts of our visit here are a few videos of some things we created and cooked.
Once we had our meal prepared and a little fun for photos, we took the meal outside with a delicious Tuscan wine.
Heading to Florence, Jule’s had a tip for us. We stopped at the local Olive orchard for some Extra Virgin Olive Oil to take home. I think its going to be tough to get the 2 gallon one home but I bought it anyway:)
With the afternoon complete we left the countryside for the Arno River town of Florence. We will drop all our belongings at the next AirBNB then take car back. Our next stop will be via train.
Today, Tuesday July 10th, we took advantage of earlier registration and had a VIP tour of David and the Duomo. Meeting in the middle of Plazza San Marco, near the statue, our tour was the first to get into see David, no one was around so we got the best photos. Our tour guide was amazing, funny and informative, the very best.
Early entrance gives us a clear view of this amazing statue and its history 
Mary Magleden 
Justin pondering the existence of David
Dive into the art and architecture of Florence we slipped into the famed Accademia Galleria before the crowds, arriving at Michelangelo’s David without the bustle of others. We floated through the remainder with intrigue and awe in the history we were witnessing. Next was a special access to the terraces of Santa Maria del Fiore – Florence’s premier cathedral. (You know, the red domed beauty in every iconic shot!) Piazza del Duomo where a pause at the Baptistery displayed a set of bronze cast doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti, coined the “Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo. Multiple pictures and time to view. To cap our time, we skipped the line to climb the dome experiencing this incomparable piece of architecture, and taking in the surrounding beauty of this incredible Italian city. Florence. It is here the incredible views over the Italian city sealed our growing assumptions about how this city has long inspired the great artists of Italy. Our tour guide helped us relive those times through stories and anecdotes. Selfies are not always the best so this time we had another roof top climber take our family.
We have taken several other walks of Italy tours during our time in Italy, but our David and Duomo tour with Angelo was by far the best! Angelo really made the whole experience a 10 from start to finish, he was knowledgeable – like all of your guides – but what set him apart was his passion and his storytelling ability of historical events in a way that were relatable and informative. The 3 hours flew by, and we didn’t want the tour to end we were enjoying it so much! We credit our great experience 100% to our awesome guide!!
View from top of Duomo 
Felt like we were discovering some new underground passageway 
The cathedral ceilings are so intricate 
Jena has a way of finding some great foodie locations 
Built very close to the Roman crossing, the Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, was the only bridge across the Arno in Florence until 1218. The current bridge was rebuilt after a flood in 1345. During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy. 
