Under the Tuscan Sun- Firenze!

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On Wednesday afternoon I arrived in Firenze, or Florence. This city is wonderful! I didn’t know this, but the city “symbol” is the Fleur de lis, and it’s everywhere! This is a town I know my Mom would have loved. There are little reminders of her everywhere. I smile every time I see a fleur de lis, cause it makes me think of her (it was her favorite symbol).
On a map my hotel looks to be far away from the city center, but it’s actually nice 30 minute walk down the Arno River. That may be far to some, but I prefer to see the city on foot when I can. After I checked into my hotel I walked down the river to see just how far everything would be, and decided walking is going to be easy! The first “main attraction” that I reached was the Ponte Vecchio, or an old bridge, and the Uffizi Gallery. I then wandered into the Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza Signoria and just admired the architecture of the buildings and the sculptures that surrounded the Palazzo. It was close to 7pm so I decided to grab some pizza and gelato and make my way back to my hotel.
The next morning I rose early, around 6:30, had breakfast at my hotel and was headed to the Uffizi Gallery. They open at 8:15 and I got there around 8 and queued for about 30 minutes. Once I got in I wandered through the museum for a few hours admiring the works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafaello and Michelangelo, just to name a few! This museum is known as one of the greatest Renaissance museums, and it certainly is.
I then made my way to Santa Maria Del Fiore (Duomo) and queued for about 30 minutes to climb to the top of the dome. I thought, hey I climbed to the top of the Arc in Paris, I can handle this. Little did I know that it’s 463 steps to the top! But I did it anyway, and it was so worth it. I started to get a little claustrophobic about two thirds of the way up because that’s about when you start bumping into people that are coming down, and the stairwells are narrow, dark, and there’s no where to move out of the way. Right about at the top you basically climb steps that are like climbing a ladder, almost straight up. Going up was fine…going down was a totally different story. As soon as I stepped outside I instantly forgot about all those steps I’d just climbed and soaked in the amazing views of Florence. You could see everything, everywhere! The mountains in every direction, every monument and church, it was breathtaking. I snapped some photos and took a brief video and made my way back down the steps. Oh boy, that was interesting, but I made it. I stopped for a quick Panini and water and made my way to the train station to see about a tour bus. I made it right on time because it was starting to rain. I ended up on one of those hop-on, hop-off buses and took the first loop for about an hour. What a great way to see the city. Although I enjoy walking, this made it possible to see things I wouldn’t have time to see on foot.
It was still sprinkling a little, but I decided to get off the bus and make my way back to my hotel. I was tired and thought a nap sounded really good! It took me about an hour to walk back to my hotel, I read for a while then fell asleep for about 2 hours. It was around 7:30pm and I headed out to dinner and found a great little place to sit outside and eat. I don’t think I’ve eaten one meal inside, except for breakfast at my hotels. I had Chianti wine, linguini with mushrooms and truffles- delicious, and chicken with vegetables. However, I didn’t realize the chicken and vegetables were fried! Not like KFC fried, but more like tempura, which was amazing, but so heavy and greasy! I ended with a café latte and made my way back to my hotel.

The next morning I, once, again, enjoyed breakfast at my hotel and then decided my main goal today was to see Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell ‘Accademia. I knew I’d have to queue, but decided I was ok with that. It was raining this morning, so that made things a little challenging. I grabbed my raincoat, and umbrella and headed for the closest hop-on, hop-off stop to my hotel and took it to the stop closest to the Gallery. It was about a 15 minute walk from there, in the rain, and then I got in line…and queued for almost 2 and half hours. I kept thinking that David better be worth it. I chatted with some people from Texas and California who were on European cruise. They were entertaining, and it was great to chat with people (who spoke English!) again.
Finally I got to see David, and he is well worth the wait. What an amazing piece of artwork. I admired him for about 20 minutes then wandered through the rest of the museum. Most people go there just to see David, and don’t bother seeing everything else, but there are some other amazing sculptures and paintings as well. At this point I was starving so I grabbed a Panini from a place across the street then wandered into a shop and bought some great little souvenirs…some leather bracelets and great glass bead necklaces.
The sun was out and it was now a beautiful day. I wandered to the bus stop to get onto the other loop of the tour, which lasted about 2 hours and went up into the mountains and through a town called Fiesole, which is older than Florence and has amazing views of the city. I loved this tour because I saw a lot of the “country side” I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It was also relaxing to just sit back and enjoy the scenery. I think I’ll be doing the same thing in Rome. Once the tour was over I did a little shopping and bought myself an inexpensive bag for all of my books and souvenirs that I’ve accumulated then made my way back to my hotel. It wasn’t late, probably 4pm but I thought another nap sounded good. Little did I know I’d sleep until 10pm! I read my book for a couple of hours then fell back asleep, enjoyed breakfast at my hotel, again, and now I’m just getting ready to check out and go catch my train to Rome! I’m definitely going to come back to Florence again someday. I love it here!

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Photos

the steps!
Going down...these are the steps like climbing a ladder in the Duomo! Yikes!

Comments

[Heather]

That sounds amazing Christina. I'm glad you're having such a great trip!

[Katie]

I love Florence too! Been there twice and your photos remind me how lovely it is. Yes the Duomo climb gets scary but as you said, well worth it. I'm glad you got to do that , the mueseums and have truffles - YUMMY! Thanks for posting - I love to relivemy tours there. Rome will be great too but much larger. Lots of walking so wear good shoes!

[Jana Keller]

Florence, Italy
So glad you are enjoying Florence - it was one of my favorite locations in Italy too! And Yes your mom would have loved that town with all it's art, history and shopping. Enjoy!

[Shaylyn]

hello
Hey Christina. I showed Shayauna your pictures just now. I said "who's that?" She said "tina". She made me lift her up to the computer screen so she could kiss you :). She misses you. But I told her you're having fun and eating good food. Glad you're still having a blast!

[Julie Kramme]

Your pictures are stunning. The town looks just like a little storybook community! I loved your description that you forgot about the hike up the hill when you got to enjoy the view!