Walking Florence

September 25, 2013 at 2:53 pm • Posted in Connecting by Yve

Our time in Florence has come to an end and the feeling is… put simply… bittersweet. Over the past two weeks we have gotten into a familiar routine each day (see mom’s earlier post) and have become—if you would—accustomed to life in Firenze. Though of course we haven’t fully extricated ourselves from the Mercer Island lifestyle.

The next stop on Project Equator is Santorini, Greece. You could say there’s a pretty sizable difference between the two; what with Florence’s big cathedrals and marble façades, the tall buildings with their famous red rooftops, and art everywhere, whether its some cool decoration on the side of a building, some artist painting in a piazza, or one of the great museums such as the Uffizi; art is literally the core of the city. Santorini on the other hand is wide open, all around is the crystal blue waters of the Aegean Sea, extremely fresh, delicious food—arguably better than Florence (a common topic in our family), rich island history and… uhh octopus?

Out of all the differences, there is also a fair share of similarities as well. In particular, is one of the main activities in our daily Florence schedule. Walking.

Here is a chart of how many steps and miles we did each day:

Our last night, while sitting around the table taking in the whole ambiance of the restaurant and the rich tastings of our impeccably cooked meals we came to a topic of best and worst things here in Florence (which is hard because what’s not to love, but…). It came as no surprise when mom said that her favorite part of Italy was the walking and also that Jones replied with the very opposite—he even specifically requested that for his birthday we would do absolutely no walking. Who can really blame him though? At the end of each day we were all completely drained. With so much going on and the craziness of well, everything, at least we’ll know the walking part of our trip will always be there; in Greece and onward.

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Yve

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Terry / September 25, 2013 at 3:03 pm /

I can understand why you are sorry to leave Florence but you must be excited to see the Island that your Mom has loved for so long. Happy walking.

I remember when Saint was little we lived in Oxford. He would refuse to walk by sitting down on the sidewalk and taking off his shoes. The only way to get him going was to bribe him with candy. You could suggest that to Jones.
- Yve / September 25, 2013 at 3:09 pm /
  
  Instead we threaten to ask the cranky lady above us to babysit so he doesnt have to walk the next time!
John Kramer / September 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm /

So the BIG question is: whose job was it to count all of those steps? I think that if I was the official step counter, that would probably would have made my worst list.
- Lisa / September 26, 2013 at 2:16 am /
  
  Hi John! We used the Fitbit and it is the only time in my life we have actually beat your mom and Muff with total steps for the week It will be hard to keep up the pace but we will try!
rayner Attisha / September 25, 2013 at 5:56 pm /

I think that since Tuck and Jones legs are a little shorter they should get double step credits or an extra day off. Can’t wait to hear about Greece. That’s my dream destination.
- Lisa / September 26, 2013 at 2:18 am /
  
  so true Rayner! We are going to find a babysitter here in Greece so T&J can have some R&R ….Ramsay, want to fly over and babysit?
- Cliff / September 26, 2013 at 1:06 pm /
  
  We’r trying to finish our Italy posts before revealing the perfection that is Greece :-). You NEED to come here! It is truly paradise!
tuckeraufranc / September 26, 2013 at 3:52 am /

Or Jones could do what Kate does when she really wants to win: put the fitbit in the dryer and let her go! (Actually done by accident…at least that is her story)
- Cliff / September 26, 2013 at 1:05 pm /
  
  Our secret weapon is Tuck and his incessant cartwheels