Florence

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River

 

For the finale of our Italian getaway, we headed to Florence for a couple of days.  It is the capital of the Tuscany region, as well as it's largest city.  It was a major hub in the Renaissance movement, and has an over-abundance of art and architecture from that era.  In fact, it, too, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (surprise, surprise!).  

With all the famous art and architecture, Florence is heavily touristed, with a very strong American contingent.  We hit a few of the major sites, but were more than content leaving some out.  We climbed to the top of the Duomo dome (aka Brunelleschi's Dome).  It involves over 400 stairs through narrow passageways, eventually going up between the inner and outer domes.  The design and construction of this dome is considered an huge engineering achievement, particularly for the time frame of its construction (early 1400s).  Half-way up, we got an up-close-and-personal view of the interior painting, and the top provided a great view of the city.

The Uffizi Gallery is a massive museum filled with paintings and sculptures from every era imaginable.  We spent a few hours there, using a Rick Steves audio tour to get us to the best exhibits and provide some insights.  It was kind of corny, but overall it worked well for us.  The Pitti Palace was, as the name implies, a humongous palace, with each room, hallway, and staircase filled with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling art.  A major overload.  Some of it was interesting and all was very well done, but really not our thing.  Particularly at that scale.  The adjacent Boboli Gardens was more our speed ... outside, relaxing, and pretty nice.   

On our final day, our friend Patrick took the train down from Bologna to spend the day with us.  We had really no agenda, but cruised around stopping by a few sights (Duomo museum, a couple of churches), eating great food and gelato, and giving Patrick a debrief on our adventures and impressions.  A perfect way to end our trip!!

Narrow Streets, Narrow Sidewalks

Panel from Gates of Paradise on the Baptistry

Facade, Duomo

Statue of St Thomas and Christ, Building of Orsanmichele

Leonardo Davinci, Uffizi Gallery

Detail of Ceiling of Duomo.  Puts the fear of the devil in you!!

Bell Tower from the top of the Duomo Dome

Descending Staircase between the Inner and Outer Domes

 

Portrait of an Old Man, Uffizi Gallery

Painted angel on ceiling in the Pitti Palace. Painted or Sculpted?  The front of the foot is sculpted and extends onto the ball ... probably contributing to the realism.

Art, Boboli Gardens

Duomo from Boboli Gardens

 

Duomo Detail

Serious Post-Gelato Strategy Session

Door Panel, Basilica of San Larenzo

Organ, Basilica della Santissima Annunziata

Michelangelo's Pieta, Duomo Museum

Duomo, from the Bell Tower

Evening Light on the Arno River

The Happy Travelers

 

More Photos

Activities

• Wandering/Sightseeing
• Duomo Climb
• Duomo Museum
• Uffizi Gallery
• Pitti Palace
• Boboli Gardens
• Ponte Vecchio
  
• Giotto’s Bell Tower
  
• Mercato Centrale
• Basilica of San Lorenzo
• Basilica della Santissima Annunziata 
  

Random Ideas and "Insights"

• Italian life seems to revolve around food and meals.  Breakfasts are light affairs ... coffee and a pastry.  Early afternoon (say 1-3) is lunch time, which is a pretty serious meal.  Later afternoon (say 3-5) is gelato time.  Early evening (say 5-8) is time for drinks and light finger food.  Then late evening (say 8-11) is dinner time, and another serious meal.  Sometimes, there's even another gelato after that!  We managed to adapt!!
• Apparently, seeing too much art (or maybe just Florentine art) can be harmful to your health.  There's even a name for it ... Stendhal syndrome.  It involves rapid heart beat, fainting, confusion, and even hallucinations.  (Skeptical?  Check here.).  Fortunately, we limited our exposure enough to escape unscathed!

Random Scenes

• Prior to returning the car to the Florence airport, we needed to get gas.  Tom went through the usual self-serve ritual, but couldn't figure out how to pay to get the gas pumping.  After finally being directed to the central pay station, he swiped his credit card, and the machine started asking questions in Italian.  He answered no to the first question (without really a clue as to what it was asking).  It replied with more gibberish.  Frustrated, he decided to walk away and go to the full service side of the station.  Another intervention by the attendant (inputting the pump number) got the pump working.  This was fortunate, because the machine had accepted Tom's card and preapproved for 99 euros of gas.  If he had walked away, someone else would have gotten a free fillup.  Very stressful.

Sleeps

• Firenze Suite