A full day in rainy and sunny Florence

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Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569

Buonasera on Wednesday night, friends and family!

Yesterday, Tues April 24, was a full day spent seeing most of Florence on foot, starting with a 3-hour walking tour of the 'Renaissance' part of the city, followed by a tour of the Uffizi Gallery and its world famous collection of works by the Renaissance masters, and topped off by the steep 463-stair climb to the top of the Duomo's dome for a sweeping view of the entire city and Tuscany countryside. The final course of our Florentine full meal deal was dinner at Trattoria Za-Za -- saffron risoto with truffles, shrimp, and zucchini, with a nice Brunello.

What a day! Sorry to say, we were too spent to log onto this blog, so we're playing a little catch-up tonight.

The walking tour, led by a guide from ArtViva, was an absolutely enthralling blend of history, architecture, fresh air, fascinating stories, and exercise. It included Orsanmichele and Santa Trinita churches, Santa Maria dei Fiore Cathedral (the Duomo), the Piazza della Signoria (Florence's city center), and the Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Arno River. The Uffizi tour was highlighted by works by 15th and 16th Century artists Botticelli and Leonardo di Vinci. And the hike up stairs, winding staircases, narrow ledges overhanging the main sanctuary, and passageways between the inner and outer domes to the Duomo's cupola was in every way the high point of the day.

The wine at dinner did us in. Sweet Florentine dreams were had by all!

Mike and Sharon
Dad and Mom

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Photos

Typical alley in historic center of Florence
From our walking tour

Ponte Vecchio
Famous bridge lined with gold and silver shops; the only bridge in Florence not bombed in World War II

From the middle of the Ponte Vecchio
Looking north toward the Duomo

The Duomo
The Baptistery on the left and the Campanile (Giotto's Bell Tower) on the right

The Duomo's incredible dome
Designed by Brunelleschi, the first Renaissance dome and the model for future domes such as St. Peter's Basillica and the US Capitol

The Duomo's nave
Looking toward the main altar in Santa Maria dei Fiore Cathedral

Looking west from the top of the Duomo's dome
Past the bell tower

The Campanile
The bell tower next to the Duomo after our descent from the top of the dome

Comments

[Kylie]

Sounds absolutely amazing, what a magical place with so much history, good food, interesting people, enjoy every moment! Love the entries and beautiful pics!

[Kaethe Andersen]

So cool . . . it is beautiful. Raining here.

[Jack and Paula]

The trip sounds absolutely wonderful in every way. Don't worry about a thing at home, just enjoy the fantastic pasta, bridges, and people.

[Rex]

Absolutely beautiful. So many places to see and so little time. Nice pic of the two of you from the tower. Maybe pizza and pics when you get home? If Charlie will let us in is? He knows who we are, even in the dark, Ha.

[ashley bednarek]

Wow, what beautiful artwork, architecture, cathgedrals and scenery glad you guys are loving your Italian getaway. Thanks so much for including me and Sir Charles. He is loving running w/ me daily and his walks to the park and he is such a p
leasure to dogsit. Have a great day guys and thanks for all the pics.

[kylie]

Heavenly photo

[Linda A Reynolds]

Now that is one beautiful picture of two wonderful people in a magical place. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your adventure. hugs and happy wandering.

[the schaefers]

What an amazing couple! More pics of my beaufiful parents please

[Fool]

Nice hiding of your LEFT hand Mr. B!!!!!

[Mary from CT]

I'll be following you every step of the trip.

[ashley bednarek]

What a great looking couple it's fun looking at all the Italian beauty and great pics!

[Ona]

Absolutely amazing!!!!