Florence

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence
September 21st 2007

Published: September 21st 2007

Edit Blog Post

mmack

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Ciao! Well today we traveled about 1 1/2 hours on the Autostrada to Florence for the day. We had to park on the outskirts of town as they have a 'ring' around the city where you cannot drive. They have cameras set up to photograph your plates and if you do drive into the ring of the city and you don't have permission you will get a large fine! So we found a good spot and jumped on the number 11 bus to take us into the city center. First place we got to was the Ponte Vecchio bridge which has been standing there since the 1400's. It was the only bridge in Italy which survived the last war. The bridge is full of, and I mean full of jewellery stores!! And the gold here is all a minimum of 18 karat. I was tempted to buy a few things but .... I did hold myself back. Next we walked to see the many squares. The nice thing about Florence is that it is relatively flat so it is easy walking. We came upon the square with Michelangelo’s David! But … this is not the real David, it is a replica

The jewellery!

that is about 200 years old. The real David is inside one of the many museums in Florence. Unfortunately we were unable to see some of the more popular museums as they were soooooo busy! At this same square there was an open air museum with many statues that we were able to enjoy. Next we went on to the Duomo. Again --- what a beautiful building. It was started in the 1400’s and took about 140 years to complete. It is one of the largest basilicas in Europe, holding up to 30,000 people. In the 1800’s they added on the marble façade which is on the duomo today. Inside were some brilliant frescos and paintings. Next to the Duomo is the Tower which Wayne and I climbed, all 414 steps to the top. The view from there was incredible! We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets and enjoying the many shops. For our last night in Tuscany we ate at a local restaurant about 5 minutes from our villa. We have just finished packing up and everyone is getting ready for bed. We’ll be up early for our drive into Venice tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing