Firenze (Florence Italy)

Days 10 and 11

June 14, Tuesday.  We left Venice behind and headed to Florence Italy, called Firenze, in the Tuscany area.  (Please bear with us, we posted out of order Venice comes before Florence- oops) 

Andiamo - lets go!  

We arrived in Florence mid afternoon and hit the ground running.  We went on a walking tour of the old parts of the city for a couple of hours ( in 90+ heat) with a fun guide.  For any of you that have watched the Netflix series the Medici’s - this is where we were.  The whole town was built and dominated by them until the late 1700’s.  At the end of the tour we got to see Michelangelo’s “DAVID” at the Accademia Gallery!  It was well worth the crowds!

Then we had a fabulous and fun dinner with the whole group and ended the night with a walk to the famous medieval bridge- Ponte Vecchio (means old bridge).  I think the only remaining intact medieval bridge.  It just missed being blown up by the Germans in WWII

June 15 -Wednesday.

We had over 1/2 a day to explore and do whatever we wanted to do.  We chose to start with Giotto’s Bell Tower, and we are so glad that we did. This was a Renaissance tower that was part of the Piazza del Duomo.  Christine and I spent a long time going up and coming down the 414 steps.  We stopped at the different 4 levels to enjoy the history and enjoy the views of Florence. 

After the bell tower we wandered thru the Duomo church.  It was very ornate on the outside, but except for the stained glass and the beautiful dome, the inside was really a fairly normal Catholic Church with a crypt underneath.  Then we went thru the Duomo museum, wandered the streets and the markets and enjoyed lunch at a huge covered market.  Late afternoon we rejoined our group at the Uffizi Museum (started by the Medici family as their private museum - of course).  It was a huge museum, but we only concentrated on  the renaissance times and a few of the masters Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Donatello.  (No, not the turtles).  We had a guide for this too!  We are getting so spoiled with guides.  We are able to learn and enjoy so much more than if we just looked around a museum ourselves!   Christine and I spent the rest of the evening wandering around, trying out another aperol spritz, and finishing the evening with wine and pizza!  

Andiamo!!  We are off to Rome!

Ps: If we look a little worn out in any of the pictures, it was in the mid 90’s, crowded (picture New York City), and humid!  

Brunelleschi's Dome - 15th Century Renaissance church.  If you want to walk to the very top, it is 463 steps.  We didn’t climb this one, but one of our tour members did and loved the experience.

A modest angle of - THE statue of David by Michelangelo. 

10 days in and we still have smiles on our faces.

Franco (pictured here) and his brother Angelo, fed and entertained us with the best dinner yet!  Wine, steak, pasta, dessert…… It was awesome.  

Florence at night on the medieval bridge- Ponte Vecchio

Continuing our fun night in Florence on the Ponte Vecchio.

Night shot - just because I love cities at night.

Giotto’s Bell Tower, started in the year 1334.  Christine and I loved climbing the 414 steps to the top!  We could see the whole city and could also feel like we were walking through history.   

Christine starting the climb.

Resting on one of the levels.

Resting and taking selfies on the way back down.

Inside of Brunelleschi's Dome.

This was more impressive in person!!  It was a spectacular bronze door in the baptistery of the Duomo. It was one of 3 that were created starting in 1401.  

Even the ancients needed to “just have a moment”.

Lunch break.  Still on the mission to find the best aperol spritz in Italy.

Massive covered market in Florence with meat, fruit, vegetable or any other food you could imagine.

The ceiling of the long hallways in the Uffizi Museum.  I had to include it because I loved it. 

This piggy is mighty old!

One of the Uffizi Gallery's best-loved statues, the "Boar" owes its renown largely to the more famous bronze replica (known as the "Porcellino" or"Little Pig") cast by Pietro Tacca (1577-1640) installed at the Loggia del Mercato Novo. The sculpture was unearthed on the slopes of the Esquiline Hill in Rome in 1556 and came to Florence, together with two statues of "Molossian dogs", as a gift from Pope Pius IV (1559-65) to Duke Ccsimo I de' Medici (1569-74). It was instantly designated as "Greek" on account of the superb quality of its workmanship, but it is in fact more likely to be a Roman work of art from 1st century BCE.

The same guy redone in bronze. Tourists have rubbed the nose for years!!! Why - who knows, but we did it too. 

This is the oldest intact medieval bridge left in Europe - Ponte Vecchio- it missed the German bombings by just one block .  The bombings leveled several city blocks. Note that the top of the bridge was an inclosed walkway for the Medici family to walk between their palaces and work.  They actually built their walkway through  businesses and houses!

 Good bye to Florence