The Pearsons & Joehls take on Tuscany!!!

After one of my favorite persons visited us in Poland (my sister), we got to see two of our other favs just four days later!!! The Pearsons were heading to Italy and we just had to meet up with them! When we originally planned the trip, Andy didn't connect the dates correctly and realized that he had a leadership meeting during the week we planned to see the Pearsons.  Luckily, the business meeting was moved and the trip was back on!

We headed into a little town, outside of Florence, called Cantagrillo for our AirBNB on Saturday night, and then planned to have the Pearsons join us on Sunday morning.

Airport Selfie

Renting a car in Italy was a bit intimidating as they are fast paced drivers,
but our Panda sure was amazing!

Heading to dinner in Cantagrillo!

Small, whole in the wall, restaurant that had high reviews.

We felt like we were part of the Italian family in this little joint!

I ordered a pizza and Andy ordered a $3 steak! 

It is always interesting to walk in to the AirBNB's that we have rented in Europe, to see their design style and confirm that they looked like the pics on the posting.  I hadn't seen any of the pictures on the website, so all of this Italian goodness was a surprise to me! Andy and I got a personal tour from the owner's cousin, Enrico, who didn't speak a word of English.  Between our broken Spanish and Enrico's hand motions, we understood about half of the information he was sharing with us! Ha!

Sunday morning started with Scooby Doo, the only show in English, with coffee and local bakery pastries!

Our Panda!

Once Jeff and Sarah arrived, we headed to Florence to see some of the sights! When we arrived in Florence to see the Statue of David, we were shocked by the line.  It was about Sunday at 10am so we knew that there would be line, but we were not expecting the wrapped around multiple building line.  I had seen the Statue of David in college, so I wasn't upset, but the others wanted to see it, so we decided to come back a little later in the afternoon.  This is when a kind man stopped us and told us that because I was pregnant, we could skip the line and get right in.  He nicely walked us to the front of the line and after talking to two guards, we were let in! Thank you baby girl!

After visiting the Statue of David, we started Rick Steves' audio tour - Florence, A Renaissance Walk, which was a great way to cover the sights and find out interesting information while being able to look around.

Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence

Cool clock! I love coming across interesting finds like this!

We stopped for lunch at a little pizza/sandwich shop!

The Duomo

Replicas of Ghiberti's famous bronze doors, the 'Gates of Paradise' on the Baptistery

When in Italy, you have to consume as much gelato as possible!

The Orsanmichele Church - exterior
The Four Saints by Nanni di Banco

The Orsanmichele Church - interior

Piazza Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio

The Arno River and a beautiful view of the Ponte Vecchio

Ponte a Santa Trinitá

Beautiful patios on the Ponte (bridge) Vecchio

We bought a couple pieces of artwork - which is a goal of ours while in Europe!
Picture with the artist

Santa Croce Church

Early dinner stop for the lasagna!

Group plate!

Nothing like an Italian corner photo booth!

And what is a trip to Florence without a stop at Ikea! Ha!
The pillows in our AirBNB might as well have been a piece of cardboard,
so we stopped into Ikea quickly to stop up on pillows!

Best dinner of the trip!!! Fiaschetteria in Pistoia!

We weren't sure if this guy was the manager or owner, but he was great!

Best soup ever - Minestra di Fagioli

When I told the manager/owner that I LOVED the soup,
he asked me to hold on for a second and returned with a trophy that they won for their soup! Ha!

Best photo bomb!

And shots of vodka to top off the evening!

Monday morning started with a breakfast with Pam and Larry, Jeff's parents, who were also on the trip! They didn't join us on Sunday as they had been to Florence before, so it was nice to catch up on Monday morning with a yummy breakfast at our AirBNB.

The Pearson crew in front of our rental

After breakfast, the four of us headed to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa! We weren't sure if we really wanted to make the trip to Pisa for only one sight, but when else would we be this close and we just had to go!

The Panda was small!

View of the Piazza dei Miracoli, the Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

On our way to Pisa, we looked up some fun ways to prop up the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
This one was a winner!!!

Trying to capture the angle of the base of the tower.

That belly is coming into good use again!

After Pisa, we headed to Lucca, Italy! We loved Lucca!!!

This was our view most of the time -
the boys walking in front of us -
nurturing their bromance!

Aren't they the cutest! :)

The old town of Lucca is encircled by thick walls, originally built to
withstand heavier weapon usage, such as cannons.
You can see the walls above in the picture with Jeff & Andy.

Lots of pics of random beautiful doors in Lucca!

Santa Maria Forisportam

First view of the Guinigi Tower, where trees are growing on the top.
The trees are holm oaks, that represent rebirth and renewal.

Entering the Piazza dell' Anfiteatro

Check out my hubby's shirt!
After this trip, I requested that he gets some plain polos to wear as we tour around Europe!

Cute art shop!

Heading out to read Rick Steves' tour of Lucca!

This picture shows the various stages of the walls -
the original arches into the Piazza were filled in and changed many times.

Basilica of San Frediano

I loved how the shutters opened!

SO many churches in Lucca! I have no idea which one this is! Ha!

Older Italian men hanging out on the corner!

Edison Bookstore with beautiful floors - random find from Rick Steves.

They fit right in!

My middle name is Michelle, so I had to snap a shot of the street sign.

San Michele in Foro

Inside the San Michele in Foro

More gelato!!

And then a shot of espresso!

Church of San Giovanni

Interior of the Church of San Giovanni

Roman ruins that were found underneath the church were part of our ticket.
Shown above is a baptismal font from the 12th century.

We then could climb the bell tower!
How many towers/steep steps can this pregnant girl climb!?!

Made it to the top!

Views from the tower!

Yes, I was that crazy girl that stuck my phone out of the
protective screen to get this shot!

Another view of the Guinigi Tower

To top off our visit to Lucca, we walked along the thick city walls
and had some incredible views of Lucca!

Such a sweet relationship! ;)

Our last dinner with the Pearsons was at Bisteccatoscana

There is only one option on the menu - meat and various sides! :)

You could watch the chef cook your meat!

We could even see him from our table!

On our way out of town, on Tuesday morning, I snapped some shots of the local landscape company that we drove passed each day! Beautiful views!

Our trip with the Pearsons was quick, although I don't know if a week long trip would have been enough either, but I think we have convinced them to come to Munich next Fall for Oktoberfest!!! CANNOT WAIT!!!