Florence Under the Sun

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Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569

Buongiorno,
We're in the midst of our afternoon rest. This is not the hottest time of the year in Florence and yet the heat and sun are almost unbearable. We've been told it gets worse in July and August because the humidity rises. I'm glad we will be home by then. It also would not be so uncomfortable if you were not walking for miles to see the sights It's all part of taking a vacation and dealing with whatever conditions come your way.

Our morning began with a real homecooked breakfast. The place we are staying in is a bed and breakfast. We were served orange juice, hot tea, croissants, yogurt, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, omelets, cookies and fresh fruit. It was nicely prepared and very good. We needed that nourishment to carry us through the morning agenda we had planned.

Mercato Centrale was our first stop. Every city we go to it's always nice to visit the markets to get a good feel of the way the people shop and the variety of goods available to them The markets are filled with so much color. The vendors were selling fresh fish, meats, poultry, lunch meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices. There were a couple of flower vendors. One interesting site was making spaghetti noodles and ravioli. We watched for a while to view the operation. The finished product was then sold at the front of the stall. There were also several vendors selling flavored oils and vinegars which could be tasted before making a purchase. The same for the cheeses and the salami. The markets are always such a friendly place. You always get cheerfully greeted and wished a good day. The local people all know each other and stop to chat before moving on to shop.

We moved on to the Plazza Duomo where we visited the Museo deli'Opera del Duomo and the Cathedrale of Santa Maria del Fiore. We were able to go inside the Duomo which is a large church. The actual Church part of the building is small compared the entire structure. The very high domed ceiling is adorned with an amazing painting! The rest of the building is a large empty hall with marble floors, some stained glass windows and some paintings. It's beautiful inside. The visitors are expected to be quiet and if the volume rises a man comes on a speaker and shushes everyone. He starts with Sh! Sh! sh! Then "quiet please." It's kind of difficult for it to be completely quiet since there are large tour groups in there and their guides are trying to explain the history and what they are seeing. But they lowered their tones when asked to.

We also stopped to see the Basilica of San Lorenzo. It also had beautiful statues and paintings on the walls and ceiling. Pictures were not allowed inside.

During our wanderings this morning we passed many street vendors selling a variety of goods. They have for sale many leather items, and of course souvenir trinkets for those who are interested.

Later in the afternoon we started fresh to view more sights. This time we headed over the bridge to the south side of the Arno River. We found less tourists on this side of the river. It had it's fair share of restaurants and small stores but didn't compare to what was on the north side of the river.

We visited San Frediano and San Spirito Churches which both were closed to visitors. The exterior of San Frediano was very plain with no ornamentation. San Spirito was much bigger but still not as ornate as some of the others we have seen the past two days.

Since there didn't appear to be much activity we headed back over the bridge stopping to take a couple of photos of Pointe Vecchio which is a famous bridge which crosses the Arno River. All of the other bridges crossing the river were bombed in World War II but this one was spared. The bridge as it stands was built in 1345.

We walked several streets passing through the high end shopping area. The shops we passed included Giorgio Armani, Prada, and Gucchi , among others. A few shops were passing out appetizers to the people who entered their stores.

Before heading back for the night we stopped at a recommended gelato shop for a sweet treat which really hit the spot on this very warm night!

Arrivederci

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Comments

[Kathy Nichols]

Fascinated by the bridge built in 1345 -- and by the churches, the paintings, the architecture, the markets, the food, etc. The Prada shop looked pretty interesting too. Don't you just want to buy something from everywhere? Can we somehow g
et a photo of the two of you? Ciao!

[Amy cabe]

Yum! That's all I can say