With Emily spending her junior year in college studying painting, art history, and Italian in Firenze, Italia (Florence, Italy) it gave us (M, I, Kate, & GrammaB) a great opportunity to travel abroad (my first time overseas). We visited her for a week at Christmas - renting the Parione apartment from Federico in the heart of historic Firenze, a cobblestone's throw from the Duomo and just a 5 minute walk from Emily's apartment.

We strolled about, soaking in the sites and sounds and tastes of Firenze. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve Gingergread escapada (<-- click for photos) which has it's own gallery over in "Family Moments" and a wonderful nearly traditional Christmas dinner. We also enjoyed a variety of side trips and highlights that are included here: a half-day trip to Pisa, a hike up to San Miniato to watch the day turn to night, a full day in Rome & Vatican City, a visit to the Museo Marino Marini (where Emily will be interning), and dinner at one of Em's favorite restorantes (not to mention an inexplicable collection of doorknockers, windows, store displays, and streetlife).

At our classic tourist pace, the images and exposures don't have the study they deserved, but they'll deliciously preserve priceless memories and give a pleasant glimpse into a wonderful set of destinations. I've paginated this gallery to make it easier to navigate, as I captured over 350 images -- click on the page numbers to jump forward, click on an image to see it larger ... If you've got a quiet 15-ish minutes, the slideshow feature in the upper right of this page is a great way to auto-scroll through the collection.

Ciao!

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