Duomo Do-over

April 19th--We ventured out of the apartment today with no real agenda. We headed to the Tourist Information office where we were thrilled to find out that most of the museums and churches were free of charge this week due to a state holiday (or something like that). Anyway, it was lunch time and we are NOT going to miss a meal while here in Italy. We found a cafeteria style restaurant with cheap food and headed in. We had another great Italian meal and headed off to the Duomo, Florence's Cathedral. What a sight! It is absolutely gorgeous from the outside with all the different colors on the building and it's impressive dome. Before going into the Duomo though, we headed into the Baptistery. This is Florence's oldest building. But before we could actually take it all in and get some good pictures, Austin announces that he has to go "pee-pee" really bad. So, off he and Mike go. Abby and I follow shortly behind and meet them outside. I decided since we had only been in for a few minutes that maybe they would let us back in and they did. Inside the relatively small, octagon shaped baptistery, we were able to enjoy the remarkable ceiling mosaics. Once outside, we were able to see the bronze doors built by Ghiberti. From here, we stood in the line that entered into the Cathedral. Luckily, the line moved really quickly. About the time we got to view the high altar, only 2 minutes after being inside, Austin announces again that he has to go "pee-pee" really bad. This time I exit with him. Mike and Abby meet us outside and we decide at this point that we will just head back to the apartment to regroup. We've also decided that Austin is NOT allowed to drink an entire Sprite again for lunch. After a short rest period, we walk back toward the Duomo, but stoped for our first Gelato on the way. We REALLY like Italian food! We all enjoyed our Gelato as we walked, but upon arriving at the Duomo doors we quickly realize that it had closed. It was a little rainy at this point so we decided to walk back to the apartment, taking in some of the various stores and sights along the way. We'll try again tomorrow for a Duomo do over.