We awoke and headed to the supermarket near our room to get food. Went well, except that we were not allowed to buy the bananas we had selected for some reason that we were never able to understand.

We then caught a bus to Fiesole, a small village on the mountain that overlooks Florence. There we walked along a street with a panorama view of Florence lined with Tuscan homes and gardens. After walking the rest of the town, we had lunch at a pasta place by the square. We then took the bus back to Florence and walked back to the Duomo. This time I took the girls inside (Phyllis had to wait outside because she had bare shoulders). The church is mostly empty inside, and quite austere, except for a very complicated marble pattern laid out on the floor and a colorful painting in the roof of the dome.

We then paid to go up in the dome, this time with Phyllis. This was very neat because the way up involved lots of stone tunnels going up through the walls, which the girls loved. We also got close up interior views of the dome and painting before emerging onto the balcony at the top for a view of Florence.

We then walked to a large piazza near the river for dinner (pizza), and then headed to the river. We crossed the famous bridge there that is lined with shops on both sides, mostly jewelry for tourists, it seems. We got gelato on the far side and then walked a stretch along the river before catching the bus back to our room. There, I went to the store for food and supplies. When I returned, the girls had choreographed a dance routine to “Thriller” that they performed for us before we turned in for the night.