Florence

Florence - Florenz

We ended our city tours in Florence. It was unbelievably hot there. It hit 105F (40.5C). With the heat, we decided not to see as much as we initially planned and slow our pace.  

However, we did walk to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The stairs were many and the heat was intense - but the view was remarkable.

Luckily, we were staying in the center of the city and were just around the corner from gluten free options as well as the beauty of this very special place.  We did a lot of water drinking, sleeping and only one museum. (the Uffizi Gallery)  In terms of food suggestions here for gluten free options - our favorites were Quinoa Restaurant, Lorenzo Di'Medici and Ciro & Sons.

Even with that cutdown plan, one of our family members did get sick from the heat for a day plus and the rest were wiped out. We were able to avoid any serious problems, but it did take a couple days for us to get back into the swing of our trip. Fortunately, our next stop was a planned rest. We headed to the Island Elba where life is much slower and the temperatures are significantly cooler. The trip was a quick drive to the ferry and then a 10 minute drive on tiny roads. We parked the car in the driveway for the week - and will not be touching it again until we head out.