Blogs from Florence, Tuscany, Italy, Europe - page 187

Florence

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence June 18th 1995

tfsnews

Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569abc... read more

Art, leather & ice cream.

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence May 24th 1993

Florence

roamingfox

UK & Europe, May 1993 After Rome we headed back towards Florence. We had driven past it on our way to Rome, but did not stop there. Tuscany, the bit we saw through the windows of the bus was beautiful. Once we arrived in Florence, we went to a few tourist traps but I must admit we found it very interesting: - Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine Arts") where we saw the statue of David done by Michelangelo. According to experts the Academy has housed the original David since 1873. Naturally there were other fine arts to enjoy too. - a leather shop. So tempting to buy something made of such soft leather, but of course the price was far beyond what we could afford. Alas, all we could do was just touch that ... read more

The Renaissance Was Over-rated

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence August 6th 1990

Florence View

waterfia

The train arrived at Florence at five in the morning, so everyone piled onto the platform for a couple hours extra sleep. Some security guards decided to wake everyone up an hour or so later and then they walked off and let us all go back to sleep again. That’s obviously how they keep themselves entertained when things get a bit dull. Bastards, but at least they were not in the league of the Gestapo on the train to Lisbon. We all awoke to discover that we were not in fact in the central Florence station but in some obscure little place just outside. It was a while before a train arrived to take us all into town. Florence is a fantastic place to wander round, but the greatest attraction is for the art, being the ... read more

Overlad 1972 - Day 17

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence February 28th 1972

Trolley

Day 17 - Tuesday 28th February Left the Youth Hostel at 10am to start the 175 mile journey to Rome. The local bus route took us close to the autostrade but surprisingly charged us extra for our rucksacks. Today was a "hitch alone" day. After an hour, a brilliant piece of luck as I was picked up by a 30 ish year old very smart looking lady in a sports car and as an added bonus she was travelling to Rome. She was secretary to the American ambassador but surprisingly we conversed in French (in my case simple schoolboy French). She kindly helped me improve my Italian concentrating wisely on the key areas of days, numbers and food - at least I would now have a better level of pronunciation! The scenery for the journey was ... read more

Overland 1972 - Day 16

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence February 27th 1972

Trolley

Day 16 - Sunday 27th February Breakfast at the hostel was 150 Lira for rolls, jam and coffee. This is only the second time that I have stayed in the same place for a second day and so at last some proper time for sightseeing. So here goes. Unfortunately it rained nearly all day. Medici Chapel - with its four sculptures by Michelangelo of the four times of day. Medici Riccardi Palace - with its frescoes of the three kings. Baptistry of San Giovanni - with its three gates of paradise and biblical scenes in gold. The Cathedral - with its beautiful frontage and tower but we did not go in because there was a service taking place. Palazzo Vecchio (old palace) -closed at noon ! Uffigi Gallery - ceilings just so beautiful : Michaelangelo, Boticelli ... read more

Brief history of Italy

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI establis...more history

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