After leaving Bavaria, Gerri, while driving, announced she had a surprise destination for me - below, here we are at the Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen, an aerospace museum located in the German town of Friederichshafen near Lake Constance.  Dornier ceased as a company in 2002, but the museum remains, having opened its doors in 2009.

Across the runway from the museum is the present day Zeppelin NT company.  Much like the Goodyear blimps, they conduct passenger flights and advertising missions.  We watched several appearing to be performing training flights with many touch and goes.

Then we arrived in the town of Freiburg.  "An old university town, Freiburg was incorporated in the early twelfth century and developed into a major commercial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical center of the upper Rhine region. The city is situated in the heart of the major Baden wine-growing region and serves as the primary tourist entry point to the scenic beauty of the Black Forest. According to meteorological statistics, the city is the sunniest and warmest in Germany and held the all-time German temperature record of 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) from 2003 to 2015."

Mosaics in the sidewalks in front of businesses.  Most of the them were created in the last few decades, based on some remaining very old examples.  Some of the businesses had been replaced by new ones unrelated to the previous.  And a stained glass example from the cathedral.  And the cat, it appeared a current or previous owner just liked cats.

Upon leaving Freiburg, we entered the Black Forest.  Somehow the first shot through the car's window indeed showed a dark and foreboding view - the camera computer was apparently confused.

In the left photo below, at the top of a major ridgeline, we found a hang glider/para glider launch point.  As we continued down the backside of the ridge we were treated to more amazing scenery, as we approached Baden Baden Germany.

"Baden-Baden is a spa town, located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. It lies at the northwestern border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, just 10 km (6 mi) east of the Rhine, the border line to France, and about 40 km (25 mi) north-east of Strasbourg, France."

A Bentley automobile can apparently be parked anywhere you want, after all this is a $250,000 car - what tow operator would dare tow it, what amount of a parking ticket could you not afford.

Free outside offerings of a modern art museum, located adjacent to the historical spa's.

And then the next day we took what they say in hiking language is a zero-day, just lounging around the apartment.  It was also a German holiday, so just about everything was closed.  Tim headed out towards dinner to find some bring-home pizza, and stumbled upon a crowd appearing to be waiting on either arrival or departure of a celebrity.  He asked around and discovered Barack Obama was in town to receive a press award - apparently he'd arrived earlier and likely wasn't headed out till the next day.

After leaving Baden Baden, we hiked up to this balancing rock formation, and found a neat car parked nearby.

We were scheduled to arrive in Luxembourg the next day, but a mini-reunion near Ramstein AFB worked out, so we diverted a day to meet Dave Valentine and his family, and Jim Braunscheider and his wife.  They were Gerri's ROTC friends from back at Michigan Tech.  Dave works on Ramstein Air Base, and Jim was traveling for a few days out of Wash DC.   (awaiting photos)

And now in Luxembourg standing on the bridge from Germany.

We continued on towards Luxembourg City, but visited an American WWII cemetery before arrival in the city. The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is 50.5 acres and contains the remains of 5,076 American service members. 44 graves are 22 sets of brothers resting side-by-side. Most of the interred died during the Battle of the Bulge which was fought nearby in the winter of 1944/1945. Two flagpoles overlook the graves area. Situated between the two flagpoles lies the grave of General George S. Patton.

We came to the cemetery on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, and arrived, unexpectedly, just as the annual ceremony began, with many dignitaries, and several service member families in attendance.

An American and Luxembourg flag, along with a rose, was placed at each and every burial plot.

We found Luxembourg City to be a modern city, as well as containing well preserved parts of its past.  We took a walking tour which wound and circled along its old defensive formations.

To the left, near the end of the tour.  On the right, we ate dinner and watched an international marathon cross in front of us - as usual dominated by either Kenyans and/or Ethiopians.  The race was also unexpected, and had much of the inner city blocked off for it.  Many of the international runners were even staying at our hotel.

And now we're in Belgium!

20-21 May 2017

We drove from Munich, after picking up our next rental car (an Opel, not the Fiat 500 again), to Peißenberg (pronounced Pie-Sen-Boorg), a small town in the middle of the Bavarian region.

A Bavarian church and monastery.  Very scenic surroundings.  Paved bicycle trails going everywhere.

Another church in Bavaria.  See the Alps in the background.

"Neuschwanstein Castle is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Great Escape and served as the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle."

Ludwig's hunting castle nearby.

The city of Füssen, and St Mang's Basilica and former monastery.  We took a long walking tour winding all around the city.  A town of 15,000, small, friendly and quiet, not a tour bus in sight.

To the left a senior living home with an attached cool old church - see the walkway over to it.

"Welcome to Tirol Resort Region of Reutte" or something to that effect - we enter Austria for the first time.  This arched bridge allows wildlife to move safely across the roadway (fences encourage them to use it). 

What 300 feet of free space looks like below your feet, as viewed through the bottom of a 1300 foot suspension bridge.

Yes, it swayed a bit.  But what a view from the middle - cheaper than a helicopter.

That drooping ribbon of the steel to the left is the suspension bridge - a world's record for pedestrian suspension bridges.  We parked in the valley pass below it, walked up the far side, crossed the bridge, then recrossed it to check out the fortress ruins.

Gliders zooming over our heads, this one skywriting in the background (okay not really, just a coincidental jet trail in its background).

Two forms of solar power, fields of gold and green, and cells creating electrical power at a lumberyard.

Another Bavarian maypole telling this town's story to us as we head "home" for the night.

We're now in Germany, crossing from Milan to Munich on a big bus over the Swiss Alps, 25 Euro each.  Italy was 6 weeks of sights, sounds, and smells.  A trip through 2,000 years of historical sights, honking city car horns and chiming church bells, and Italy's smelly fresh food out of the pasta maker and straight from the pizza oven.

Our bus just crossed over the bridge - we're above it now as we climb higher.

The front right row seats were available, so we assumed the position.  Like sitting in a moving movie theater, no special effects needed.  This was no sardine-in-a-can demo-derby mini-van dirt-road-trip with 23 of our favorite Asian friends through the Thai highlands thrill ride.  Okay, let me tell it this way:  we experienced a freeway closure for 2 hours, he tried to divert through a town, but that didn't work out, and it was still a sublime pleasure of a commute to Germany.

Munich town hall wit de glockenspiel dancing right before us.

Many of Munich's residents and a "few" tourists were out and about.  It seems this was the first real summer-like day to happen here since last Summer, at least that's what our lodging host said.  Basking in the sunshine is Munich's Bavarian May Pole -  it's dressed out mostly different every year to reflect the town's heritage and present.

Join the party!  Outside beer garden in the market - not an unfriendly person in sight.

The look of relief - that's what you see here.  Gerri dreaded a big turn about in eating possibilities after leaving Italy (she's especially fond of pasta) and going to someplace like Germany.  But, she found an upscale Norwegian-sourced seafood chain operating here.

Frauenkirche, Munich's Cathedral.  The towers are easily seen around the city due to height restrictions on new construction.  The towers were completed in 1488, and also required repairs following WWII.

Munich was devastated by allied bombing in WWII.  It took 25 years+, but it emerged rebuilt, and managed to resurrect much of its past architecture.

A lingering memorial to Michael Jackson, placed on an unrelated statue, but in front of a luxury hotel that he'd stayed in while on tour through Munich.

Two nice Hondas - on the left a new, but retro-looking bike; on the right, a modified version of an old classic (kinda Moto Guzzi looking with the transverse-V-twin, but watercooled).  Okay, these photos might not remind someone of Munich, but we've noticed Germany is at least as motorcycle crazy as the U.S. - when the sunshine is shining, the roads are as inviting to bikers as those anywhere in the world.

The legendary Hofbrau Haus - a real German beer house - this is not Frankenmuth, Michigan, it's original and authentic.  It even suffered much damage in WWII, but was rebuilt within a few years after the war.

Tourists drinking big beers.  And on the right, what a local looks like drinking the beer of his people.

"Thirst is worse than homesickness"  hmmmm, so drink up, and be somebody, so we did.

Gerri still gittin some good vittles fortunately.

The Residenz - royal palace of Bavarian royalty.  The palace began in 1385, went 500 years with it's royal residents, until royal governance lost favor in the 1800's.  It remained a city treasure until the bombs of WWII, but was also rebuilt, with much of its internal treasures saved, at least those that could be moved away or otherwise protected.

An homage to German resistance to the rise of the Nazi party.  To avoid having to raise their arm in the Nazi salute as they passed into a square to the right, some residents, as they went about their day errands, purposely diverted on a long-cut to the left, symbolized by this "golden" path laid into the cobblestones.

Just before our 4-month trip completes and we leave out of Germany for home, we'll return to Munich and visit the Nazi Documentation Center.  Nazism began in Munich with Hitler's rise from there.  Munich vows to never repeat the nightmare again, and the Center maintains the history of it all.  We'll also visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial at that time.

The last stop in Italy.  A business city of movers and shakers, contrasts well with Rome's Roman ruins, big government, and the Pope.  Rick Steves:  "...for every church in Rome, there's a bank in Milan..."

Since the locals didn't seemed to be outnumbered by the tourists as in Rome, you notice the locals more, with their keen fashion sense.  There's even Leonardo DaVinci in his best duds, with his supporting homeys.

Scene from the night before, on a stroll to find some eats.  Preserved canal lock, with toll house.  Leonardo himself had a hand in civil engineering the water system.

Another noteworthy covered plaza - 18th century, in the age of Eiffel and Italy's unification (all regions under one governance).  Here are some of the most high fallutin fashion shops of the world.  We'll stick to REI, the Columbia Outlet, and Goodwill for our duds, thank you.

Milan's Cathedral - began 1386, largely finished by 1810, the last touches as late as 1965.  Gothic style, and all done in marble!
To the right, the trophy for the bicycle tour of Italy, which goes down in mid May, and finishes in Milan.

Fair weather today on the plaza in front of the Cathedral.  We liked the bright interior of the Cathedral - a more uplifting place to worship versus some of the dark and foreboding other churches we've seen.

Incredible marble floor mosaic.  Stain glass windows from the 1400's.  Some of the windows were lost in WWII from the concussions of nearby bombs and replaced with modern versions (this one survived as an original).

Martyred Saints - we've seen many depictions of them glorified in statues and paintings, with literal references to how they died - this is maybe the most dramatic - he was skinned alive by Romans, and now wears his skin as a tunic.  The Madonna to the right is a replica of that which perches at the top of the bell tower - she was put here so that Milan's admirers could witness her up close.

In a building next to the Cathedral is a supporting museum preserving objects that had been at risk while in their original environments outside and inside the church, including stain glass remnants from damaged entire panels.

Continuing our city tour, Rick Steves brought us to Italy's major stock exchange in Milan's financial district.  The "Towering Middle Finger" was intended to be temporary - it won a popularity contest to get placed here, and locals loved it so much it's now permanent - this is from 2009, as the world sunk into recession, Italy hard hit.

To the right, Basilica di Sant'Ambrogia - from 380 A.D. - at the end of the Christian Roman western empire.  We had to wait for a children's mass service to end before we could enter.

For the left photo here, there's a caption needed, ...beam me up Scotty, I can't take any more church visits....the miracle appearance of the immaculate tourist...help me Obiwan Kenobi, you're our only hope....................

Creative vandalism.                                                               We close Milan with a brewery visit.

Leaving Bolzano, Italy, we took the high road to the Lakes Region of Italy, a scenic drive that took us through Switzerland (and the Swiss Alps).  We kept a lookout for the St Bernard with his little collar barrel, but we did not spot him.

Switchbacks at the Maloja Pass, 10 miles Southwest of Saint Moritz.

Not the Matterhorn - we were well to the East.  To the right, Lake Albigna Dam - the top at 7100 feet.

Along Lake Como, cascades off the mountain.  On the right, "the Fiumelatte is a river flowing from a cavity into Lake Como, just south of Varenna, it has an approximate length of 250 m (820 ft) - Italy's shortest river. The name Fiumelatte, composed from fiume (Italian for "river") and latte ("milk"), is due to the milky white color of its water. One of the river's peculiarities is its annual intermittency: it usually dries in the middle of October to reappear in the second half of March."

The view from our apartment balcony.  Our trusty Fiat 500, and our dining area.

Zoomed view from the balcony, and two further zooms below.  Million dollar views.

Fish from the lake, and other local specialties.

Found some more breweries.  German varieties to the left, American style right.

The Moto Guzzi factory, the one and only, just 20 minutes south of our apartment near Varenna.  It's Sunday, so there wasn't any action.  That's our Fiat 500 again parked in front.

11-12 May 2017

We left Venice and drove to Verona, on our way to the Dolomite region of the Italian Alps.

"Verona is a major tourist destination in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheater built by the Romans. Shakespeare set three of his plays in Verona: Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Taming of the Shrew. It is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over."

The Roman Amphitheater, where entertainment is still staged amongst its ruins.  To the right, well maintained Verona buildings.

Ruins of the amphitheater on the left; on the right, closeup of the column outside the amphitheater.

Gerri standing next to reused Roman artwork - taken from ruins and incorporated into structures in the Middle Ages.  The usual narrow city streets, with lots of tourists.

Shakespeare set his play "Romeo and Juliet" in Verona, but there never was a real Romeo or Juliet, at least as portrayed by the play.  Below, a tour guide in the 1970's told the story or maybe suggested the possibility that this was the balcony of the story.  Now tourists flock here to check it out.

Bell tower with neat staircase -- statue of Dante of "Dante's Inferno".

Roman bridge - brought down by Allied bombing in WWII, but rebuilt, lifting the original marble Roman stones out of the river (the lighter colored ones).

Old town gate, with a local, a tourist (Gerri), and a beggar woman.

We then motored our way to the Dolomites and Bolzano, Italy.  A fort, or what have you, seen from the highway.  These are all over the place, from big to small.

In Bolzano, we met Ötzi (also called the Iceman, the Similaun Man, the Man from Hauslabjoch, the Tyrolean Iceman, and the Hauslabjoch mummy) is a nickname given to the well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived around 3,300 BCE.  Hikers found him in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, hence the nickname "Ötzi", on the border between Austria and Italy. He is Europe's oldest known human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of early Europeans. His body and belongings are displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

We then rode the sky gondola up into some higher elevations of the alps.  This puppy was steep and fairly fast.

High country farming.  Alpine peaks peeking through the clouds.

  We were to walk maybe 4-5 miles of trails, and country lanes.  Amazing scenery.

Photographer's self portrait, inspired by Etcher.

Alpine high country road to the next town.

We crossed over the rail tracks, down into the meadow, through the woods, and up to an old church...where we did some geocaching.

And then were led by the trail to some very interesting geological stuff - erosion on grand display - pyramidi de terra (earth pyramids).  A bit of Dr. Suess again perhaps?

Back "home" to Bolzano.

Bolzano Cathedral - a Gothic design, started in 1184, expanded in the 14th century, and completed in the early 16th century.  Note the cool mosaic roof tiles.

9-10 May 2017

We drove across a long bridge to the island complex and parked in one of the biggest parking garages we've ever seen.  From Naples northward we've seen a lot of infrastructure supporting both the locals and the traveling hordes of tourists.

We started walking then to the center, coming across this large, modern pedestrian bridge.  It's named Ponte della Costituzione (English: Constitution Bridge) from 2008.  Many don't like it - too modern, and with a traditional bridge not far away from it - it took us where we wanted to be, carrying our 30 lb back-packs.

This is Venice.

Rialto Bridge, built 1591, at the narrowest stretch of the Grand Canal.  A great vantage point to see all the different types of water craft.  There are over 400 bridges to allow foot traffic over all the major and minor canals, most are fairly small (30-40 feet long by 10-15 feet wide).

This is Venice also - old buildings with water lapping their edges.  Water taxis seen here.

Venice's two most iconic buildings, St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace, stand side by side on St. Mark's square - Doge's Palace is shown here, built 1340.

The Grand Canal - grand indeed.

St. Mark's Square again - with St. Mark's Basilica in the background and St Mark's Campanile, the bell tower.  Construction of the tower began around 900, upon Roman foundations.  The tower attained its final form in 1514.  It collapsed into a pile of bricks in 1902, with only the caretaker's cat being killed.  It was reconstructed in 1912.

They say with rising sea levels, and additionally with the city's foundations actually sinking into the old back fill, Venice is fighting a harder and harder battle with flooding.  We saw the platforms piled at the ready for those areas that flood often - they form walkways when the water covers the streets in some areas.  We were there during a full moon and saw the tide come up enough to just begin spilling onto some of the street near our apartment.  See the flaking stucco on the building below - this has happened time and again for centuries, but now repairs are more frequent.

We convinced ourselves that for us a gondola ride in the canal is just like many other boating times we've had (maybe it's a little different huh?), only here it's the same cost as renting a light airplane.  But we did have to get on the canal, and we figured a night ride would be great.  At right is the type of boat we road for about an hour fifteen total - for 15 Euro total for both of us - most of the trip from that back seating area.

Across the bridge over Gerri's right shoulder was our apartment on the second floor - the actual window is the shutter just above Gerri's head, in the second building.  In the first building, just before it, in the ground floor is a craft beer tap house - purely coincidence I assure you.  We had some good brew one night, talked with a college student from Norway (she wanted to talk all night if we let her), and a couple from Georgia on some fashion related business trip.

Here's Gerri navigating with google maps - we would have found ourselves deeply lost without this help.  To the right is a typical smaller side canal - to us having been here just a couple days, they all looked identical.

Our night ride on the canal.  George Clooney got married here at this location on the second floor.  Our ride was actually directed by our Rick Steve's guidebook, telling us what boat to get on, and as we sailed, what we would see.

One last view of Venice from the rooftop.  The Georgia couple from the tap house told us about a "secret" access from the top of a shopping building (their hotel told them) - the city was crowded, but tourists were oblivious to this spot, there were only a handful of people up with us.  A few of the earlier photos were taken from the same spot.  Except for maybe one tiny powerboat in the middle of the photo, this is how Venice has appeared for the last 200+ years.

Signing off from Venice.

7-8 May 2017

"The Cinque Terre ("Five Lands") is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and narrow winding roads severely limit access by car."

We drove to Corniglia (pronounced "Cornelia"), against the advice of our lodging host, but it was no worse than driving high mountain roads in the Western US - narrow and winding, and only became really exciting when someone came from the other direction.  We even found parking a half mile's walk from town.

There are no art museums here.  It's all about the trekking between towns, and seeing grand vistas.  The trails were well maintained, but the ups and downs were tough.

If you don't want to walk, you can arrive by boat.

Or arrive by train, which most seemed to be doing, especially cruise ship visitors from the port city to the south.

Agricultural terraces.

There are no gondola rides here - you walk up to these heights.

5 - 7 May 2017

I stayed up late last night blogging, but it was OK since we can sleep in a bit since we now have two full days in Florence instead of just one.  We do have a couple of appointments with the first being a lunch date at 12:30 PM.  So, we slept in a bit, woke up, showered, and cooked some breakfast in the apartment (eggs, fruit, cheese, yogurt, juice, and toast).  We left the apartment around 10:30 AM, 2 hours before our lunch date.

Who are we meeting for this lunch date?  Well...here he is.  Isn't he magnificent?!?

After seeing Michelangelo's David (sculpted 1501-1504), all other sculptures might appear pale in comparison.

Two unfinished Michelangelo sculptures.

Florence Cathedral (built 1296-1436)

The doors of the Baptistry of the Cathedral of Florence - the head to the right is a self portrait of the doors designer/builder.

And then we walked on go Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square).

"The Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi."  "David" stood in this spot from 1504-1873, when he was taken inside, away from the elements, into Gallery of the Academy of Florence.

"The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli generally thought to have been made in the mid 1480s."
Right here in front of us at the Uffizi Gallery!

Tim has "Dr. Suess-on-the-brain" and so snapped these photos - whimsical real life visions...

Bridges over the Arno River - especially notice the bridge with habitable and shop structures.

Archea Brewery

Florentine cuisine.  Seafood pasta.  A Florentine steak.

Medici Chapels - tombs of the powerful Medici family - these sculptures by Michangelo.

Really big tombs.

Strange sculptures and religious relics.

Inside Florence's Cathedral.

Outside the same.

Italy's "Brew Dog" brewery, and Black Angus (and imitation Black Angus) burgers, all very tasty.

Iconic view of Florence - looking back at the Cathedral.

We managed to leave the hotel pretty early because we had three hours of driving and two cities to visit before getting to our AirBnB in Florence.  After leaving the hotel we grabbed a panini for breakfast and walked downhill to the parking lot as is always the case since it seems most of these ancient cities are built on top of hills.

We arrived at Volterra just after 10:00 AM which was awesome since we beat most of the other tourists and had no problem finding and parking in a parking lot.  As usual, we walked from the car to the start of the Rick Steve's walking tour that he outlined in his travel guide, and as usual, the tour started at an entrance arch (Port all'Arco).  This arch was pretty cool because it was actually a Etruscan arch built over 2,000 years ago.  By the way, the Etruscans came before the ancient Romans, so we are talking old.

We then continued the tour through this amazingly unspoiled ancient town:

What is an ancient town without a Roman Theater built during the first century A.D.

The next photo has one of those really cool trees that grow along walls.  Tim told me to turn around and I had no idea that I was passing this tree until I looked at the photos on the computer.

Following the Rick Steve's walking tour, he said to go down an alley and find a studio with Roberto Chiti and Giorgio Finazzo at work.  Sure enough, there they were sculpting away on alabaster sculptures. 

After a few hours of walking around Volterra, it was time to head to Pisa just over a 1 hour drive away.  We arrived and was hitting traffic just as a parking lot appeared, so we headed in to find it was free, but a 30 minute walk to the start of the Pisa walking tour.  The good news is that since Pisa is a seaport town, it is flat and not on the top of a mountain.

On the way to the start, we stopped at a Kebob restaurant just to "get lunch done" and headed on for the tour of Pisa.  We arrived at a river crossing with incredible buildings along it.

Who would have thought there was a Keith Haring wall in Pisa?

About halfway through the walk, the travel guide mentioned a really good gelato place, so of course we had to try it.  This place had some strange flavors of which I selected two.  One with rosemary and pine nuts, and the other with ricotta cheese and black olives. I have to tell you, it was quite weird eating ice cream and then having to chew up a black olive.  It was interesting and worth the try, but I don't think I will order that flavor again.  Tim when with two scoops of salted almond...pretty safe.

We continued the tour, and when we arrived in the Piazza dei Cavalieri (Knights' Square) we were met by a Star Wars parade celebrating "May the Force/Forth day"...how awesome is this?!?  Especially with the incredible 12th century buildings flanking the square.

We must have been in Pisa for at least 1.5 hours until we finally got a glimpse of the famous tower:

Of course we had to take the obligatory "holding the tower up" photos: 

Two more of the many photos Tim took of the tower.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was really is cool to see in person.  I was afraid it would be a letdown, but it really wasn't.  We tried to get into the church next door, but there was a 1 hour wait and our AirBnB host was anxious for us to get to Florence, so we walked the 25 minutes back to the car and headed to Florence.

1.5 hours later we arrived in Florence.  As soon as we were checked in and relaxing a bit we decided to add one more night to our already 2 night stay, so we now have 2 full days to enjoy the birthplace of the Renaissance.