11:02:54 Chie sitting in front of one of the lovely big windows in Lorenzo's mother's house.
11:03:24 Lorenzo's mother's cat, which I believe is called Beos.
11:03:56 ...she seemed to like hiding under the bed.
11:05:20 A tree outside the house, and a very nice tree too.
11:11:30 The cat again...
11:36:10 Chie reading "Let's Talk Italian". This usefully tought me how to say "some good potatoes" in Italian.
12:23:10 Lorenzo drove us into the centre, and just a few yards away from where we parked we noticed a familiar looking numberplate...
12:23:36 No, this isn't a gay pub as I at first thought. These Pace (Italian for peace) flags are everywhere in Florence, and I guess the same is true all over Italy.
12:27:29 Firenze's biggest Mosque, and very nice it is too.
12:29:54 Lots more Pace flags.
12:40:08 A lovely old fashioned tourist rotator machine.
12:40:54 St. something, one of the famous places in Firenze.
12:41:03 Just some buildings really...
12:51:49 I liked this - just one letter short of Chiesan.
13:01:22 Lorenzo managed to find us a lovely panya (Japanese for breadshop, or bakery I suppose). Here's Chie and Lorenzo tucking into some very nice pizza.
13:01:37 ...me and Lorenzo. I look quite moronic here. Probably just very happy about the nice bread, etc.
13:02:28 Me and Chie tucking into more pizza. Mine had artichokes on. Lovely.
13:14:19 The place was called Il Fornaio, if you're ever in Florence, it's worth a visit.
13:26:31 The famous Boar thingy.
13:26:49 Apparently you're supposed to put a coin into its mouth and let it drop. If it falls down the cracks into the grate below, that is good luck. If it doesn't go through the cracks you, errr, well try again basically.
13:27:21 Lovely Mr. Boar.
13:32:26 Here's some of Ponto Vecchio, with its dangerous-for-boyfriends-to-take-their-girlfriends-near jewellry shops.
13:34:37 Me and Lorenzo larking about on Ponto Vecchio.
13:35:05 Chie and Lorenzo looking very touristy.
13:54:51 Ponto Vecchio from a distance. Isn't it lovely?
13:55:12 Me and Chie with Ponto Vecchio in the background.
14:07:43 We wandered briefly through an art gallery, where there was this big slab of blueness. I think the piece was called "Il Maro" or whatever the Italian for the sea is (I imagine just like the French, but with a couple of extra vowels on the end).
14:14:26 Chie had been enjoying looking at the assorted confectionery in this shop window.
14:21:28 The eveidently wonderful St. Lorenzo church.
14:47:37 By the side of the Duomo, apparently this white circle marks the spot where the golden ball fell off the top of the Duomo and crushed someone to death. Here's Chie and Lorenzo re-enacting it.
14:48:03 The side of the Duomo, plus some scaffolding.
14:50:25 A view of the Duomo through some backstreets.
15:04:05 A shop full of wooden things, where we bought my nephew a musical frog.
15:21:12 We had to hang around for a while to wait for one of Firenze famous Gelaterias (an ice cream shop) to open. So here's me sitting next to a bin.
15:21:47 Lorenzo, waiting for ice cream.
15:23:46 The crate I sat on.
15:24:10 Chie, as viewed between two bins.
15:38:14 The ice cream. Between us we had about eight different flavours. They were all very nice. I had the tiramisu and the chocolate orange flavour. Wonderful.
15:38:23 Look how happy Chie is here! Chie enjoyed a mix of Riso (rice flavour), Chocolate nuts and Fantasia (sort of a mixture of fruits and nuts).
16:08:32 After the ice cream, we wandered up to a famous car park which overlooks Florence. Here's a shot of some of Florence's most famous buildings, and some trees.
16:09:11 Me and Chie, with the Duomo in the background. I really like this picture - thanks Lorenzo!
16:09:21 Me, Chie, the river Arno (or whatever it's called) and more of Florence, again - very nice - thanks Lorenzo!
16:09:37 ...I clearly took this one, and I'm rather pleased with it too.
16:13:40 A close up of the wonderful Duomo, and surrounding buildings, plus a bit of the river.
16:13:52 The same again but with the Palazzo Vecchio in as well.
16:14:08 The Duomo again.
16:14:14 ...and again...
16:14:45 Unfortunately it wasn't a very clear day, and was drizzling a bit. Still, I'm fairly pleased with these pictures nonetheless.
16:16:09 Lots of bridges and stuff.
16:44:49 We dropped in on Lorenzo's father on the way back. There was an absolutely lovely balcony, as you can see.
16:45:09 The other side of the blacony. From where I was standing (if I turned round), you could just see the Duomo. I wouldn't be surprised if being able to see the Duomo is an important selling point for a Florentine property...
16:52:10 Some Tuscan rooftops.
16:52:23 ...and again. Nothing really in particular, I guess I just like the tiles really.
19:42:03 Back at Lorenzo's house for a quick rest before heading out for dinner.
20:37:55 We dined at a restaurant called Il Bovaro, which as far as I can work out means Yorkshire Terrier. Here's Lorenzo with some small faggoty pasta.
20:38:29 Note also here the large jug of beer, brewed on the premises I believe.
20:39:14 My tagliatelli al funghi porcini. Very nice indeed. Lorenzo pointed out that the absence of cream in this sort of dish was the sign of a good restaurant. This way it is less filling, and easier to appreciate the quality of the other ingredients.
20:39:44 Chie had tagliatelli as well I think, although I can't remember the sauce. Maybe octopus? Still, I think she enjoyed it.
20:48:09 Me (looking a bit girly for some reason) and Chie enjoying our beers. We'd been given a table in a funny little alcove which was very cosy, but did feel a bit like we were eating in the cellar.
21:07:17 For our main course, we had a variety of interesting bready things. I can't remember what these all were, but they were very nice.
21:07:27 Bread, and stuff. I think these sorts of simple dishes are very much like a sort of back to basics exercise, in exploring the evolution of the pizza.
21:07:35 Chie, and a rather nice window behind her.
21:50:07 Great picture here. Me nad Lorenzo enjoying the second round of beers.
21:50:43 I think these were technically pints, but the glasses looked really huge.
23:51:52 Back at Lorenzo's house. Not sure what the point of this picture was to be honest.
23:54:50 I would worry very strongly about any alcoholic drink with such a prominent warning of flammability on it. In fairness, I don't think this is meant to be drank as is.
00:07:03 Me in the kitchen.
00:10:15 Chie and a good view of the kitchen.
01:19:21 Lorenzo and Chie search for the cat, who has gone under the bed again.