January out with a bang

We more than made up for a week of missed sight-seeing due to illness last week. Our partners in crime for the last three weeks have been the Weichers, a wonderful family at the end of a two year nomad life. Their sons, Enoch and Eli, have been good friends to Julia and Elisabeth, and their daughter Karlie, has given new life to Katharine. Here are Katharine, Abdiel, and Karlie on the hike up to the top of the dome.

But the rest of these photos are in no particular order, and I'm allotting myself only five minutes to preserve this week's memory via blog. (Our journals have been better kept, though!)

Tuesday I joined forces with the Weichers to take the kids to see the inside of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, to hike the dome, to climb Giotto's Campanile (bell tower), and even to ride the carousel.

Wednesday Florence thought it was Orem and snowed, or at least it snowed where we are and rained in the valley.  Luckily I had just bought scarves and hats for the whole family after our week of flu, so we were a little better prepared.

Friday Justin fulfilled an art lesson engagement with the Weichers for me because I didn't want to take Elinor out into the snow, rain, or wind. Afterward he took Julia and Elisabeth to the Pitti Palace while Katharine went to play with Karlie at the Weichers apartment.

Thursday Justin and I went on a midday date to the Uffizi. This is Elinor and I with my man, Agrippa.

One to use for your Come, Follow Me this week. Raphael's St. John the Baptist.

 The famous Ponte Vecchio.

 Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi.

 My other man, Julius Caesar.

 My favorite man, Justin Collings, strutting his stuff because he correctly identified the one and only Emperor Otho.

 The beauties are not only artistic. We had some incredible sunsets this week that of course can hardly be captured even by professional photographers.

But the best thing is sharing all these things with people we adore!

 

 And even in making new friends, like the Weichers, it's lovely to see old ones, like Justin's old Italian professor, Cinzia Noble, who was at church today with a tour group that she was helping coordinate. Next week we get to see Justin's mission president at church.

Even with all this, the highlight of the week will be written up tomorrow by Julia and Elisabeth who were able to attend SuperSabato with the youth in the Stake and go to the Rome Temple open house yesterday. Elisabeth made me proud by bearing her testimony in Italian at the youth testimony meeting. That's my girl!