Arden and I have a few days to tour around Florence before my conference starts on Wednesday. The weather has been great and both of us had a list of places we wanted to visit over these three days. Sunday we did everything we planned and it was wonderful. We even took a nap in the middle of the afternoon, trying to be European.
Well it backfired and we were still awake at 2:30 am. So this morning we awoke to have the breakfast and after eating we quickly agreed that we should have our nap a little earlier today. We woke up at 2:00 pm. We got ready and did go out but we only had time to see one museum. The guide book said that it would take 1 to 1-1/2 hours to visit the daVinci Museum, so we picked that one from our list.
There were replicas of Leonardo’s machines and his most famous artwork as well as some of his Codex. The panels of information were so interesting to read and since some of the machines were interactive, we tried them all out. We were there for about two hours, then hopped on the city bus to return again to the Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking Florence. Did you know that daVinci created a dive suit? It wasn’t the first one ever, but it certainly was improved upon.
After that we strolled through the city, having an early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and came back to the hotel. We had Gelato at our new favorite place across from the hotel. It was truly a relaxing and restorative day. We had thought we were going to see three museums and have dinner at a local Pizzeria. That will have to wait.
Sometimes when things don’t go as planned, often something better comes along. When you first notice the day’s schedule is shifting away from what is on the calendar, don’t let yourself get frustrated, try and view the situation with hope and anticipation, looking forward to the possibilities.
One of the museums we had wanted to see also has a virtual tour, so we might be seeing those exhibits that way. Regardless of whether we get to all of the things on our list, today was perfect just the way it turned out, perfectly unexpected and unplanned. Full of amazing memories, I will treasure it always.
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One Comment
When on my first trip to Italy (with 17 college students and two professors), we’d start out the day with “Plan A”, but often found ourselves heading in a different direction: Plan B. Ok, fine! Let’s do Plan B. That trip taught me to “roll with it”. I came home afterwards and thought, “How can I apply that concept to the rest of my life?” And so I “roll with it” more often than I ever used to. I do make plans, but when something else presents itself, I’m more willing and able to be open to it. That approach has yielded many gifts of experience!
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