Firenze Continued, cont'd

We also had reservations for a child-friendly tour of Palazzo Vecchio.

This is something Ted wisely researched and signed us up for in advance. Prior to the guided tour, we roamed around the Palace (literally, Old Palace, as it was named after the Medici's left it to live in Palazzo Pitti), admiring the frescoes on the walls and the gold ceilings.

We also saw a traveling exhibit called For the Love of God, which is a diamond encrusted skull...whoa.

The tour was perfect for the kids. The guide explained many things in the various rooms, but the highlight was in the Hall of Maps.

In this room, were maps lining all the walls and a large globe in the center. The Medici family prided themselves on having all this knowledge at their fingertips. But even more fascinating to the kids (and adults) was the secret shelves and passages behind the maps. We had been in the room several minutes before he opened one of the walls to the oohs and ahhs of all of us. And then he opened one which is a door, and we got to pass through it (like ghosts, Cory said). The passageway led us to a corridor lined with child-sized costumes typical of the Medici family's clothes, which the children then took turns trying on.

Oh, and who doesn't love seeing the toilets of yesteryear!