RunaroundSue

The day started with a visit to the Uffizi Museum. There was a delay for admission due to a union meeting so we had to wait in line for 1 1/2 hours to enter. But the wait was worth it for the wonderful artwork within--Botticelli, Michaelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael. Afterwards we toured the Galileo Museum that was full of amazing instruments from the 16th and 17th century and earlier. We enjoyed our lunch followed by gelato. Gelato is very big here--there are at least a couple of gelato stands in each block. We joined our group for a bus ride to the Piazalle Michaelangelo overlooking Florence. We enjoyed the food and the sunset before walking back to Florence.... read more

Our destination today was the small harbor area north of Amsterdam--the towns of Edam, Vollendam, Markem and Monnickendam. We tried out our transit cards on a northbound bus to the town of Edam after the lovely breakfast that our host, Rutger brought to us this morning--it included fresh squeezed orange juice! Our breakfast reflected the lactose heavy diet here--cheese, yogurt and butter. Of course the view from our B&B is a dairy farm--there are lots of cows in pastures here! Edam and the other towns we visited today are old towns with cobblestone streets and characteristic canal houses. We wandered through town taking in the scenic streets and canals. This area is known as Waterland for a good reason! Apart from the canals, there are many dikes and jettys, evidence of the longstanding battle against all ... read more