Au Pair Mere: Change of Plans

So, it's Monday and I was supposed to meet the family today, but there has been a small change in plans. The family has been sailing for the past few weeks and when they got back to the coast last night, the mom, Lucia, decided to stay there with the kids for the week because it is so hot in Florence. Their au pair, Autumn, came home with the dad because she is leaving on Wednesday. I got an email from her last night saying that she was back in town and wanted to know if I would want to meet her. Of course I did, so we met up in the piazza in front of their house last night. She is so great! She is so nice and cute and absolutely loves the kids, they love her too. She gave me some great insight about the job and told me all about the wonderful things she has experienced with them this past year. I definitely have big shoes to fill! I called the dad this morning and he invited my mom and me to come see the house tonight and meet him. I will move into the house tomorrow, then put my mom on a train home :(. I'll have a couple of days to unpack and get settled before the dad and I head back to the coast to sail with the rest of the family for the weekend. So much to look forward to! I met Autumn again this morning and walked around the city a little bit then we met my mom for lunch. Autumn took us to the best restaurant where we all had their specialty pasta...something I can't pronounce or spell, but it was stuffed with pears and cheese, in a cream sauce with asparagus...amazing!

About the past few days, we have really enjoyed being in Florence! We have seen a lot! We climbed the stairs to the top of the Duomo (463 steps!), saw the David, went to mass at the Duomo, took a bus up to another cool viewing spot of Florence, and had some great food! One of the best meals we have had so far was Saturday night at Boccadama. It's a great restaurant in the Santa Croce square and was one of Kristen's and my favorites. We started with a Tuscan cheese plate that was served with pears, walnuts, and honey. My mom had spagetti with tomatoes and basil and I had gnocchi with pesto and pistacchio sauce. Our table had a beautiful view of the square and sunset!

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo: