Trip to Italy!

Josh and I just took a week long trip to Florence, Italy, through Josh's work and had an absolutely incredible time! No, we didn't take James, and although it was hard at times, I'm so glad we got to go off on our own for a few days and enjoy such a romantic city together!
Our wonderful mothers and Elizabeth traded off taking care of him, which we are SO incredibly thankful for. It got hard the last couple of nights, when we'd look at his pictures or talk to them on the phone and hear stories about him, but we just tried not to think about him and were able to relax and know that he was in great hands!
I studied abroad in Florence for three months, Summer of 2000, and had the time of my life. Florence is my favorite city in the world, so I have been DYING to go back and show everything to Josh. The weather couldn't have been prettier, which we were not expecting, but Spring decided to come a little early there! The traveling to and from was exhausting, but it was worth every second of the 22 hours to get there and 24 hours to get back. We spent 4 1/2 days in the city and made one small trip to Chianti, a town in the Italian countryside known for its vineyards and olive trees.
We stayed at a hotel on the beautiful Arno River that was a couple of blocks away from the Ponte Vecchio (the only bridge in the city that wasn't destroyed during WWII). One of the many things I love about the city is it is small, but gorgeous, so you can walk everywhere you go and see beautiful or historically significant things on every corner. It's incredibly romantic with sidewalk cafes and serenaders, a great place to shop, and has delicious food! One of the best things about Florence to me is the people and culture. I love our country, but we could learn a few things from them.
Everywhere you go, everyone is SO relaxed, never in a hurry, enjoying each other's company, savoring their meals, and respectful of other people. You have to get in a different frame of mind there, and not go to a restaurant when you're in a hurry! We are a lot louder and much more impatient than they are. That was one thing they told us the summer I studied there, is that they look down upon loud conversations, and sure enough we'd get looks when we'd start giggling too loudly! We had to wait for 30 extra minutes on a bus one day and the three American couples were complaining the ENTIRE time, opening windows, fanning themselves. I looked around and not one Italian said a thing or even had a look of frustration! Don't get me wrong, they could learn a few things from us too, and I was SO happy to be back in our country last night, but I will miss that! We were in awe of the gorgeous cathedrals, famous sculptures by Michelangelo at the Academy, and incredible paintings by the greats at the Uffizi Gallery. My favorite moments of the trip were strolling slowly around the beautiful piazzas with Josh, actually getting to hold his hand instead of juggling a 24 pound baby, diaper bag, and stroller! We savored every second of that, but we were also so excited and ready to come back and be on diaper duty again! It was SOOOO hard to not wake up James last night when we got in, but we were deliriously exhausted and thought we all needed our sleep. I practically ran into his room this morning when he woke up and was scared he'd be mad at me, but he was so happy to see us! He really changed in the week we were gone, and is talking even bigger now! It's amazing how quickly they change!