Florence-First Day

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Left Rome this morning via train and arrived in Florence early afternoon. The train is an absolutely delightful way to travel! Loved it. Nice, big comfy chairs with leg room and you get served a beverage and small snack. Saw some views of the countryside as I made my way by train. Very peaceful way to travel.

Arrived in Florence and my hotel is located within 50 yards of the train station and to the west of all the sites. Very, very convenient. It had apparently been raining most of the day because everything was wet but no more rain while I was out. Unfortunately, forecast for the next two days when I'm here is lots of rain. Fortunately, there are so many museums to see when you need to get out of the rain.

Did not have a lot of time for site seeing as it would be dark in a few hours and everything would be closing. Walked over to the San Lorenzo which has some amazing Renaissance paintings inside. Very large. The Church itself is also very large but somewhat empty and simple inside. The art is what stands out. Could not take pictures inside.

Next...walked over to the Duomo. Wow. I was not expecting that. I had read reviews that it looked like a candy cane to some and to others an exploded wedding cake but the pictures I had seen did not show the colors as they truly are. You can see the dome peaking through the streets as you walk but could not really see the church. It made me stop in my tracks when I turned the corner. It really looks like an exploded peppermint candy cane! Went inside and took several pictures but like the San Lorenzo, it's fairly sparse inside given its outside. The outside colors are marble of green, pink and white. Since it was so dreary, I do plan to climb the Campanile for some photos of the city but no sense doing so when it looks so dreary out. Hopefully, I'll get some clear weather sometime this weekend to do that. 414 steps by the way to the top of the Campanile.

I also went and toured the San Giovani which is located in front of the Duomo and has the same color scheme. It has replicas of ? famous bronze doors on the outside. It's an octagon shaped building and also dressed up like a candy cane. Inside are some incredible mosaics. Was able to take pictures so snapped a few there as well.

Another site for me was going to be the Duomo Museum but, unfortunately, it is closed through the weekend for maintenance repairs so won't have a chance to see an unfinished Pieta by Michelangelo.

After that, I meandered back to my room for a quick nap and then went out for dinner late in the evening. Went to Pizzeria where I had an authentic Italian pizza of cheese, mushrooms, pineapple and bleu cheese! It was very good.

That's it for now...am off to plan my day for tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from my day. Kind of dreary looking but still enjoying all the sites!

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Photos

Pretty Building
I think it's Palazzo Strozzi.

Duomo
The colors practically stopped me in my tracks!

Inside the Duomo
Check out that marble floor design!