Florence

This statue will haunt my dreams.

I don't think this very awesome photo needs a caption.

The Palazzo is so huge that it includes a Porcelain Museum, the Silver Museum, the Gallery of Modern Art, and the Boboli Gardens. This is the view of Florence from the back of the Palazzo.

We walked up the garden steps from the Palazzo to the Boboli Gardens.

The view from the top.

The Reflection Pool, with its Renaissance sculpture in the middle, and the amazing view of Florence.

And then we had a grappa picnic on the grass. I love countries with no open container laws!!

On our way to aperitivo that night, the sky cleared and we had our first glimpse of Florence at dusk.

As the sun is setting...

...and Florence by night.

Florence, all lit up.

The Palazzo Vecchio at night.

The next day, we took a bus 90 minutes outside Florence to Siena, a small Tuscan town famous for its lovely architecture. This is the town piazza, Piazza del Campo.

And it was finally sunny! The Joneses are finally Under the Tuscan Sun!

The ginormous Piazza del Campo.

In one corner of the piazza is this very famous fountain.

Siena is famous for its winding passageways and staircases.

You can see Siena's Duomo peeking through the alleyway...

A view of Siena from the river.

Siena's Duomo is in the background, and its many medieval buildings gather around it.

More Siena staircases...

We discovered that tourist shops were selling Tuscan wine for 7 euro a bottle. So we went to a locals' grocery, and found it for 2 euro. In the sunshine, 2 euro wine tastes FANTASTIC.

On our way to lunch....

We found this tiny winery, and we were the only customers for lunch. But it was some damn good duck ragu.

And cafe, of course.

...and duh, GELATO.

We visited Siena's Duomo, which is entered via this imposing archway.

Siena's gorgeous Duomo.

Inside the Duomo with its eye-grabbing striping.

The altar...