Today was a national holiday - Liberation Day in Italy - celebrating the 1945 freedom from nazi/fascism in WWII. As we walked to the river we encountered a parade featuring a band and some men in Renaissance costume. We took a look at the gold shops on Ponte Vecchio and ended our orientation walk back at the residence before beginning our afternoon jaunt all around the city and up into the hills to visit Fiesole. Our transportation was via the open-top hop-on-hop-off bus complete with a taped guide so we could hear about the sights with our earphones. We enjoyed a nice lunch and walk-around in Fiesole. We hopped off our tour bus again at Piazza Michelangelo where there were amazing views of Florence. The weather was springtime fine as we had a great tour - enjoy the pics!