Sunset

Today after a much needed night's sleep we woke up to church bells and spent a good Sunday shopping and eating. After walking throught the open market for a while, we had some traditional Tuscan soups. We walked throught the Santa Croce church which holds the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo.

Now for a story about why I think some travel is not meant for children of dysfunctional families: If you are still reading, humor me and don't stop.

First of all travel is walking intensive, so I cannot imagine expecting a four year old to keep up with the steps of adults. Second, when I saw a man and wife with a baby stroller dodging the scooters, I thought they were crazy. And third, some sights are just not meant for children. Case in point: Yesterday when we climbed the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo, we were in for a breathtaking sight of Florence. Tracy and I had winded our way up a narrow staircase and were ready to see the top. We were almost to the top and could see the sunlight when a woman began to yell below at her husband, "The kids are up there already without supervision!" "How could you do this?" The husband, toting much of the families' travel supplies responded, "Then you better get up there." Mind you that "up there" was a step staircase that only one person at a time could crawl up. The wife continued to rant and rave at her husband in this cramped church tower until she reached her children (Julian, Sarah, Greg, by the way). The three kids were all under the age of 11 and were leaning dangerously close on the sloped marble floor on a railing that came to my waist. When the family was reunited the mother was determined to capture a loving shot. Before Tracy offered to take their picture, I watched as the mother wiped down the children (who were on the verge of heatstroke)and thought of the various captions that she might write in with her Christmas newsletter about the trip. Maybe I don't understand because I never had these sort of travel experiences as a young child, but please, parents, save the tower climb for the big kids and just go to Disneyland. That being said, Florence is my favorite place, I have enjoyed all the sights and food, and will post more stories later.
Katie