Today was packed full of sightseeing and our cooking class so the posting will be in two parts to accommodate all the photographs. We started our morning with a tour of Mercarto Centrale, the central food market of Florence just two blocks from the residence. We marveled at all the fresh meats, fish, cheese and produce offered there. After that orientation we boarded the HO-HO (hop-on/ho-off) bus again for another tour around Florence and up to beautiful Fiesole in the hills above the city. Fiesole goes way back to the B.C. times and was an Etruscan village. Conquered by the Romans (who wasn't?) who had just established their colony of Florintino on the Arno River (59b.c.), and destoyed several times, it became the place of choice for Florentines to have "country homes" and was especially popular with the British and other Europeans in the 1800's. Enjoy your tour with us and stay tuned for today's part 2! More later . . .Ciao!