Finally Florence! Galileo Museum And More Gelato

We found our car drop off place in Florence with no problem, and were so happy to get rid of it without any damage:). After calling our apartment owner, we walked over to the apartment in the drizzling rain. It took a bit longer than we hoped for especially because we had to drag our small suitcases behind us, but the kids didn't complain, so we were fine. 

The place we rented was right in the center of Florence, like two minutes walk from the main sights. Although its location was amazing, the place itself could have been better...and not only because we had to drag our stuff four floors up on really narrow and steep stairs (that doesn't bother us usually). The place was just kind of cold and not so clean, unfortunately. SO... we got settled a bit and went over to the Galileo Museum that was still open. 

I used Rick Steve's guide to tell kids about the main exhibits.  

The museum was quite small but interesting and educational. 

The world as we thought it was. 

Here I am playing scientific minded mom.

The truth was, this might have been my favorite part of the museum--Galileo's finger. I know...gross...

We saw a bunch of experimental equipment. 

Some were hands-on, so the kids could try them. Others were coordinated with videos so you could see how Galileo worked everything out. This is the one where a ball rolls down the slope and rings the bells with equal time intervals although the bells are not situated in the exact same distance apart.

When we came out from the museum, it was still light outside. We headed over to to the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio, along the river. 

We found a great gelato place right next to the entrance to the bridge. The kids were counting the number of gelato scoops per person we were buying on this trip, and I believe we were up to fifteen by now. 

This is Palazzo Vecchio, right next door to our street. Unfortunately, it's so tall, we couldn't fit into the picture well. The streets were a bit emptier than usual because of the rain. But we enjoyed it. 

Thank goodness we found our way back to the apartment in this maze of cobble stone streets. I usually don't take pictures of the places where we stay, but this was quite unique. It only seems that it would have been a quiet street. That first night we were kept semi-awake by the rowdy bar goers or partiers till 3 am. And we were awaked by the church bells by 7:30 in the morning, but this part was quite charming.

To be continued...