It is finally time to put the heavy puffer coats ‘piumini‘ away and pull out the t-shirts! Spring has definitely arrived and we have really been enjoying the sunshine!

Did you know that there are quite a few impressive dinosaurs in Florence at the moment?

This past weekend I had my gorgeous niece and nephew, Annabella and Joseph staying with me so it was a full house (of kids.) Very interesting to have three children under my wing for three days! Apart from the extra food one must buy, organising three children to get up, dressed, fed and ready proved to take much longer than we would have thought! I wish that Matteo would sleep as long as Annabella and Joseph though. Due to the extra guests and sleeping arrangements, we had Matteo in our bed which he obviously preferred because he has not been too happy about returning to his bed since.

One fantastic thing about having kids of Annabella and Joseph’s age is the chance to explore another side of Florence that we might normally overlook. Our first excursion on Saturday morning was to the Natural History Museum / Museo di Storia Naturale to see the new exhibition, Dinosauri in Carne e Ossa. The best thing about this exhibit is that it is shown outdoors in the botanical garden section of the museum so tree and plant enthusiasts can also admire some rare species of flora. The actual dinosaurs looked fantastic set in the gardens and Joseph, our very keen adventurer was suitably impressed!

Included in the entrance fee is also admission to the second part of the exhibition which is a small walk around the corner towards Piazza San Marco. Here there are many skeletons on display but I think Annabella and Joseph were most impressed with the gift shop where they each bought themselves a special souvenir of the day.

The trees below are some examples of the incredible specimens on display.  The first photo is an ‘albero di sughero’ or Cork Tree.

We came home for lunch and then it was up to the park La Carraia to play. I have never seen the park so full of children and families having picnics. Another affirmation that Spring has arrived.

We were the obvious foreigners though as Matteo was the only baby without socks on! 😉

FIRENZE, MUSEO DI STORIA NATURALE

1 March – 2 September 2012 – DINOSAURI IN CARNE E OSSA

Inside Exhibition at the GEOLOGIA E PALEONTOLOGIA
via G. La Pira, 4

Outside Exhibition at the ORTO BOTANICO
via P.A. Micheli, 3

all details here

Photos by Emiliano Di Donato