Meeting friends across the world in Florence.

     Around Christmastime I got an email from Mr. Combs, a dear family friend, who mentioned that he was planning a trip through Italy with his family.  Stephen and I immediately began to look at our schedule so that we could find a day when we could all meet up while they were in our area!  We decided that a Saturday trip to Florence, Italy would be a great time to not only meet up with some great friends, but it would be Stephen and Michelle's first time in the beautiful city.  So this past weekend we drove two and a half hours down to Florence on Saturday morning, then spent the rest of the day with the Combs and their family.  We started our day at the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge").  This unique bridge has shops built directly onto the bridge.

     After walking around and looking through the expensive shops, we visited Palazzo Vecchio where the replica of the statue of David stands.  In this plaza there are lots of other famous statues where many people were enjoying the shade and getting away from the heat of such a beautiful, sunny day!

     After a long lunch and some window shopping, we arrived at the Florence Cathedral and got in line to walk to the top of the duomo.  On the right you can see one of the many holes in the wall of the church that prepare you for the beautiful sight at the top!  I took lots of pictures and this was a great moment to enjoy the beauty of the city and the surrounding mountains.

     This church was like no other church I have seen because as you can see from the picture below, there is a beautiful green color throughout the facade of the church.  I have never seen so much color on a church before.  The last time I was in Florence we did not stop here, so I was very glad to not only see the church up-close, but to go up to the top!

     We ate like Italians for dinner--not finishing our meal until about 10:00 at night!  We headed back to our hotel at the end of the night and said "Arrivederci!"  Today the Combs are finishing up their last day in Italy, and they finally got some nice weather for their stay in Venice.  Overall, it was a great way to meet up with friends and we had a blast enjoying Florence together!