Florence, August 2023

It is only 2 1/2 hours between two very unique and different cities. It is not through the mountains and we had just finished a nice break from driving. We were soon to realize and remember that the roads get narrower the further south you go, and that this Mercedes is a huge car. We were entering another controlled city where cars are not permitted in some areas, and not at all in others. Our next room was in the middle of a no car zone (ZTL).

We were allowed to park long enough to unload luggage and then we moved it to a garage where we left it for duration of Florence (Firenze in Italian).

The Palazzo Mannaioni Suite was great and had air conditioning which was a huge bonus as it was very hot here. The lobby retained its renaissance brick wall and original doors. We were allowed into our room early which was also a bonus.

Here is a view of the room.

I opened the shutters and oh my, look at this view!

We're in the birthplace of my world of music; this area supported incredible artists, genius scientists, and innovative thinkers. I am looking forward to getting a history lesson. We took a rest and then went to a little market where we bought picnic supplies. We had the hotel get us a taxi to the Piazza Michelangelo, to watch the sunset. Guess what? We were not the only ones with this great idea.

This is the view in one direction. this famous statue was behind us. There are 3 Michelangelo statues in Florence. We saw all three. This first one was this bronze replica, I think it was made for this scenic overlook in the 1800s.

I also think you can see in our faces that we're getting a little vacation tired. We've been on the go for 10 days straight. We decided not to push it the next day. But we're in Florence!