Renaissance Gardens, Swamp Monsters and A Celebrity Sighting in Florence

So the kids finally realized they had been sleeping in, and woke up at 7 today. And again, we woke up to no hot water in our VRBO! The host did get it fixed but not before we ended up heading out for the morning.

En route to Pitti Palace

The first stop today (besides cappuccinos) was the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. We got there early enough to have no lines, and Silas enjoyed chasing pigeons and trying to decipher what the statues looked like. He loves picking flowers for his favorite people and found plenty to pick in the gardens - so Traci and I displayed them on our ears proudly. We hadn’t experienced much of the gardens before Silas needed to use the bathroom. So Brennan takes him on a mission to find a bathroom in this palace that was literally built in the 16th century. They’re gone a long time, long enough for me, Clementine, Lala and Grandad to climb to the top of the gardens…and change HER poopy diaper 🤣

The bathtub-looking object behind was discovered in Egypt and dates back to the 13th century…BC 😳 makes the 2nd century AD Roman obelisk seem young!

Clementines with Clementine 🍊

We all finally meet up in the cafe and Brennan tells us that Silas noted a “swamp monster” came out when he was in the potty 🤣 oh little boys and their imaginations…

We pack up and head back across the river to grab lunch before the afternoon siestas. We ended up going to the same restaurant we went the first day - it was just the perfect outdoor seating location and no wait!

As the kids (and grandparents) fall fast asleep, Bren and I decide to explore before heading to the grocery store. We grab a couple drinks in the Piazza Della Repubblica and reflect on the trip so far. There’s a group of young American guys sitting by us - clearly on study abroad - and I mention to Bren that I hope our kids escape to Europe one day and live there for a bit. Who knows what college will look like in 16 years but there’s always value in living in another culture for an extended period of time.

Living in Sevilla 15 years ago as a 21 year old was truly a transformational time in my life. I fully immersed in a foreign culture where I was still learning the language. It required me to really grow up a bit, define my independence, experience how much of the world lives (without the same conveniences we have in America every day), and learn to appreciate history - where humankind has been before that we must respect and also where humankind has been that we must never repeat.

Missing American convenience - dryers

We walk back to the apartment just as everyone was waking up, and decide to go on another walk to explore the leather shops. Yes, pretty much all we do is walk on this trip and we’re loving every minute of it.

Traci finds a beautiful Italian leather jacket and Derek find a wallet, then we are off to find hamburgers for Silas. I definitely thought my 3 year old would branch out with his eating preferences on this trip but it hasn’t happened yet 😂 as we are waiting on the hamburgers, he goes on another carousel ride - this time with Lala and Grandad.

We get back to our apartment as our hired sitter arrives to watch the kids tonight. We put the kids to bed and get ready to go out to a nice restaurant - adults only at last! The restaurant happens to be a 4 minute walk from our apartment so we would be close if anything happens with the kids - it didn’t.

As we are waiting for our table at the restaurant, the door opens and in walks the one and only Kelli Finglass. How crazy is it that we both live in the DFW suburbs but we go to Florence in order to run into her? Now, I’m immediately star struck, I know exactly who she is but I ask her politely, “are you Kelli Finglass?” And she replies, “I am” in her thick, very recognizable Texas accent. I tell her I am a huge fan and we also live in Dallas and she smiles and walks to the bar to wait for her table.

I think to understand context here, I’ve actually had an elevator speech prepared for Kelli if I were to ever meet her. I know it sounds so silly and trivial but it’s true! I basically would tell her I appreciate how she demands excellence from her cheerleaders and it really made me consider how I manage people and what I want to get from my coworkers/employees. I started to employ the “demanding excellence” M.O. and my previous employee found a new job, and I was able to hire a total rockstar replacement. So basically Kelli changed my life for the better 🤣 I spent the next 10 minutes thinking about how I could tell her this without fan-girling too hard, when our table is ready.

The menu at La Giostra is extensive - appetizers, pasta courses, main courses, sides, desserts and an endless Italian wine list. I’ve been on a Chardonnay hunt ever since I got to this country, but no Italian Chardonnay I’ve found quite hits like an oaky Napa Chard - judge me. I finally got smart and took a photo of the white wine list and put it in Chat and asked it to pick out the wine closest to a Napa chard. Lo and behold - it’s recommendation was SPOT 👏🏻 ON 👏🏻

As we are enjoying the last of this wine and our steak tartare and carpaccio appetizers (I love any opportunity for raw beef), Kelli walks by our table. Derek awkwardly says, “hi!” as she walks by, and she looks at us confused. We were laughing about it and then she walks by again and stops at our table and asks if we were the people from Dallas. We say yes, and chit chat with her about living in the suburbs. She was incredibly nice but sadly my elevator speech opportunity never presented itself 😅

We then indulged in 2 pastas and of course, the Florentine steak. Honestly, the steak was great, but I think last night might have been better! But it also could’ve been my first experience vs second experience.

We have tiramisu and ice cream with berries (that looks like meatballs 🤣) for dessert, then walk back to the apartment.

On our walk back, we notice the streets were filled with young people drinking, smoking and laughing. It was a major flashback to study abroad in Sevilla where we would just buy a €2 bottle of wine and hang out on the streets. It’s actually so refreshing to see this alive and well - not everyone has social anxiety and lives behind a screen.

The sitter tells us the kids did great - Clementine never woke up but Silas did and she stayed with him until he fell back asleep. I’m definitely happy with this babysitting service!

As the clock strikes midnight, I’m writing this in the bathtub (I don’t trust our hot water will be working tomorrow 😅) and hear the street below through our window - dance music blasting and conversations and laughter floating up to our top floor. Even at midnight, Florence is wide awake and we are lucky enough to be right in the middle of it (with a good sound machine).

Ciao!