• Florence

    Here’s the birthplace of the renaissance. Not like this particular street but the city in general. That dome in the background in particular.

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    This was the bridge to cross which is why it was set up as a major trading area. Now lined with gold shops.

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    The buildings all look a little different and towers peak out here and there.

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    Ignoring the cranes it looks so nice and peaceful.

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    The trades that sponsored the building of the churches were honoured with carvings representing their trade.

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    This one depicts the trade of “historians disagree”.

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    Here’s a spiralling statue that shows a less than pleasant scene.

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    Hercules was back in fashion and carved killing a variety of things.

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    This is Matt wandering through one of the most famous art galleries in the world. Not inside where the art is; that would be expensive. And we’re sick of ninja turtles. But wandering through the courtyard totally counts.

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    After all those ninja turtles it was PIZZA TIME!

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    It was very pretty as the sun set, but then it got a bit chilly.

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    Time to hide inside and eat all the meat. It didn’t beat Argentina, but pretty good.

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  • Duomo

    Here is the first dome built since the fall of Rome. The outside is “new” though and was put on in the 1800’s.

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    Duomo means dome and is what they call the church.

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    It looks a little garish on the outside with all the different coloured marble.

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    Here’s the very tall bell tower.

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    There are lots of small scenes all over the building.

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    Here’s the giant fancy door.

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    Across from the duomo was the bapistry and there is an even fancier door.

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    We couldn’t go inside though because of restoration and this crane in the way.

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    We did go inside the duomo though.

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    There was some cool painted glass panels.

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    Here’s the inside of the dome.

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  • Making Pasta

    First Matt chopped the vegetables with a big knife.

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    This is the scene of the crime.

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    Then Matt and the Grand Master plotted their next move.

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    Making a roux needs lots of hands.

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    Then he cut the cheese.

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    Here’s some sausage and onions cooking.

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    This is the almost finished ragu.

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    There was some leftover zucchini so that got tossed into the sausage.

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    Here’s the béchamel sauce, Matt always complains how hard it is to make. It didn’t look hard at all.

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    Then they got drunk.

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    Then he made a flour volcano.

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    Then he scrambled an egg in it.

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    Then he beat the egg with more flour.

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    Then he beat it with his hands.

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    Then he beat it with a 3 foot long rolling pin.

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    Then he wrapped it around the rod and stretched it.

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    Then he squished and stretched it some more.

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    Until it was unrecognizably thin.

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    Then he hacked it into tiny bits.

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    With an instrument obviously designed for nefarious purposes.

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    Very nefarious.

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    Time to fill the nefariously cut pasta with cheese.

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    Time to mischievously fold the nefarious pasta.

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    That’s right shifty triangles were formed.

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    It was a trap. Not triangles at all.

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    So many miscreant tortelloni were made.

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    And ravioli.

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    What’s this? Unfinished cannelloni that’s what.

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    Don’t forget to boil those lasagne noodles first.

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    Here’s a North American style lasagne, too much meat.

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    Here’s the lasagne and cannelloni ready for the oven.

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    Then Kerri ate all the pasta all by herself. Matt did go to a cooking course. It said nothing about eating.

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  • Bologna Egypt Museum

    Bologna had a big archaeology program so they have lots of stuff from Egypt. These jugs are 5500 years old from before the Pharaohs.

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    This is a board game in the shape of a snake. We don’t know how it was played.

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    Pharaohs’ tombs seem to always have pictures of giant heaps of food. I think they must have spent the afterlife playing food jenga.

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    This is the Portal of Userhat. It sounds like it belongs in a video game.

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    When it rains on a bird standing on the head of a really thin alien wearing a dress, thumbs down.

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    This is a 3400 year old meter stick. Well, cubit-stick anyway. Maybe it was broken trying to scrape gummy toys off of an ancient classroom ceiling.

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    I don’t know what is going on here, but I don’t think the cow is having fun.

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    This is a painting of a fishing cat.

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    This is an ancient Egyptian selfie station. I didn’t know they had XBOX back then.

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    This is a mummified ibis.

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    The Egyptians mummified pretty much everything.

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    Here are some cats.

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    And crocodiles.

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    And fish.

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    And snakes.

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    The full grown crocodile is creepy.

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  • Bologna

    Bologna has tall towers.

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    They lean like the ones in Pisa, but you can’t really tell from this angle. And they are in the middle of the city with other buildings so you can’t get a picture of you trying to hold them up. They are also really ugly and not marble. That is why you’ve never heard of the leaning towers of Bologna.

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    This saint wants a high five. But he is on a very tall column so he’s going to be left hanging for a while.

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    We went shopping for snowpants but couldn’t find any. We wouldn’t have been able to afford any in this mall anyway.

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    This church has lost its marbles.

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    Christmas is finally over. It takes heavy machinery to get rid of it.

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    Why does this mermaid have two tails?

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