Florence Day 16!

Today was a very fun day. We woke up late, as is becoming the norm, and after a delicious breakfast made by Cindy, we made our way out to "Il Bargello" or the National Museum. This is a must see for anyone intersted in Renaissance sculpture. We were very fortunate to experience first-hand one of the most important collections in the world. Although, we were somewhat disappointed with the fact that some of the museum rooms were closed. Oh well.

It was very interesting to see the exhibition of the Bronzes of the Baptistry. This collection of statues, sculpture and replicas is on display at the museum. Usually, these are either in private residences or in the Baptistry of Santa Maria Del Fiore, or "The Duomo". We saw many great works by Giambologna, Donatello, and even some Michelangelo's.

Our audioguide afforded us so much information not only on the artwork, but also on the history of the Bargello. It was actually at one point a prison. As we sat in the largest room, we discovered that it had been divided into several floors and housed 39 cells. We also became aware that some of the statues in the Piazza della Signoria are replicas and the originals have been placed in the museum for conservation purposes.

After our visit at the museum, Cindy would not keep quiet about missing Mexican food. She has kept going on and on and on and on about calabazitas, nachos, frijolitos con queso. On the other hand, Pox has learned to embrace the sometimes limited Italian cuisine. (He loves cheese and pizza so there's no problem here) So, on Cindy's subtle suggestion, we made our way to a restaurant named "Tijuana", yes you read it right, TJ. We finally got there, it just happened to be right behind the museum, what a coincidence, but it was closed and didn't open until 7:00 pm. Cindy nearly cried, in fact, a tear or two may have shed out of her love for Mexican food. By chance, Cindy knew of another Mexican restaurant nearby, so off we went in that direction. On our way there, we bumped into Michelangelo's house. Good accident. Once we got to "El Taco", Cindy passed out because it was also closed.

We decided to get a small snack and wait until seven to go back to TJ. After writing a few more postcards in front of Santa Croce, we sat on a bench for almost two hours, what seemed like an eternity to Cindy(without Mexican food). We "people-watched" and talked a little. Pox took the opportunity to take some environmental portraits (his professors said that this type of work is his forte). Cindy got upset with a little boy who was trying to whip the pigeons and Pox was distracted by all the people sitting around going about their daily routine.

Once back at TJ, we were releaved that they were open and it was HAPPY HOUR, so many items on their menu were at a lesser price. We ended up eating nachos with jalapenos and guacamole as an appetizer. Cindy had a tostada with beans, cheese, lettuce and a mountain of guacamole. Pox had enchiladas suizas with rice, beans and spicy potatoes. Everything was very good and reasonably priced. We even shared a pitcher of Piña Colada. (It wasn't very big, it was like a big gulp at 7-Eleven)

After dinner, we walked backed to the apartment and on our way home, we made a pitstop at the Arno river. Pox took some more photos and Cindy sat on the bridge patiently and admired the view. Tomorrow, we are headed up the 414 steps of the Duomo's belltower. Hopefully, we'll make it all the way to the top and back to the bottom without huffin' and puffin'. (or chaffing for that matter).