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Published: November 15th 2012
Smart Car
Loading up! Good thing we packed light, that trunk was TINY. After about a 3 hour drive we checked into our hotel in Florence, The Golden Tulip. We sat down for a drink in the hotel bar to map out our expedition for the following day. Both Theodoric and I had our hearts set on seeing the basilica and climbing the dome. Everything else was optional (depending on my attention span).
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the most detailed, intricate, enormous basilica I've ever seen. You can spend hours upon hours surveying every inch of this church. The longer you gaze at the facade the more rich details pop out at you. It is utterly impeccable. When you think about the time and skill that when into this artful creation it's like whoa dude whoa. Something else unique about this church that I particularly enjoyed was it's color scheme. Green, pink and white! Very different.
This was Theodoric and my first major sight seeing landmark together...I was anxious to find out how much I would have to feign interest and for how long. But to my pleasant surprise we were taking in this wonderful basilica at the same
Driver
Very impressed with his driving skills. I would be terrified to drive on some of these crazy roads. pace and with the same appreciation. He would point out wonderful little details that I had overlooked and I would point out obvious things that a three year old would find interesting.
After admiring the facade and the interior we went outside to line up for the dome climb. The line was MASSIVE. However, we quickly noticed another, much smaller, line going into the same place. Theodoric hastily drew the (wrong) conclusion that this was a priority line for old people and kids. So we stole a little English boy and told him to pretend we were family. With Manchester kid in tow we moseyed our way over to what was believed to be the I'm About to Have a Heart Attack and/or I Could Possibly Wet My Pants on The Way Up line. But nay! It was merely an express line for those who wanted to pay a little extra than the normal ticket cost. Which we did.
Climbing the 463 steps to the top of the dome was awesome! There are several different types of stair cases. Some long and wide, some stone and narrow, some brick and spirally, a couple escalators
(yeah right I wish). There is an outlet halfway up which puts you onto a balcony on the inside of the church. Here you get a magnificent view of the art on the dome. Don't look down, it is absolutely terrifying. The last set of stairs were nearly completely vertical. I kept thinking how mom would love to do this climb. The view is breathtaking! And lucky us, it rained for a brief moment only to let up and reveal a beautiful rainbow arching over Florence.
Getting down was the only irritating part. The Italians would stop to yell at each other periodically and clog up the stairwell.
We enjoyed a nice lunch of risotto and gnocchi outside as we contemplated our next move. There is a very famous, very naked, man who resides in Florence that Theodoric adores. That man would be David, Michelangelo's David. We hopped over to the museum that houses this masterpiece. After one look at the long line we swiftly decided to absorb the beauty of this statue telepathically. To aid us visually we popped into a neighboring shop and looked at a couple miniature versions.
As enamored
as he is with David, Theodoric was anxious to get on the road. He was very excited to get me to the next destination...The Little White Chapel in VEGAS! And once again I was thrilled that we were on the same wave length.
To be continued!
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