Florence

With the Accademia (home of Michelangelo's "David"), and the Uffizi (huge art museum), Florence is a cultural jackpot - even by Italy standards. I was able to score last minute tickets to both museums at a little-known kiosk hidden at a church. But before we hit the museums, we rolled our luggage through the medieval streets and past the imposing Duomo - which is so large I couldn't fit the whole thing in one picture from the close surroundings.


We stopped briefly to admire the nearby baptistery and it's famous bronze "Doors of Paradise".


After dropping off our bags at our B&B - which was right on the Piazza del Duomo, we took advantage of a break in the rain to look around. We made our way down to the impressive Palazzio Vecchio-

- and spent some time looking at the amazing statues in the Loggia there.

Before we new it, it was dinner time and it turned out to be a perfect evening for dining al fresco overlooking the piazza.

After a fine meal, we walked the town at evening taking in the different sights-

- before turning in...or trying to. It turns out that the disadvantage to having a room in the very heart of Florence is that everyone else wants to be there too. It was incredibly noisy outside even with the windows shut.

So, when we awoke to yet another rainy morning, we were both less than well-slept. It turned out to be a great idea to do the museums that day, because it really didn't stop raining the whole time.

The Uffizi was amazing, but again, pictures were prohibited.


I didn't even try to sneak a photo of famous works like Botticelli's "Venus" because they were covered by reflective glass. Nonetheless, we saw some great works of art and had a great time.
After the Uffizi, we went down and crossed the Ponte Vecchio - which is lined with jewelry shops -

- and found a little deli where we bought a mix of cheeses, salami, olives, and a bottle of wine for lunch...yum!

Then it was on the the Accademia to see the statue of David. It's always interesting to see such a world famous work of art, because it's been so built up in your mind. I think Stephanie and I agreed that this far exceeded our expectations. I know my covert photos don't do it justice, but it's the best I could do.

Florence is also where we first encountered the "No Dinner Before 7:30pm" rule. We found a restaurant that looked good, but were asked to leave because it was 7:15pm. Feeling rather put off, we found another place and agreed that the food we had was undoubtedly better than what we would have gotten eslewhere. The further south we went on our trip, the more frequently we found ourselves trying to pass the time until dinner.

By the time we finished eating, it had started to rain. But on our way back to the B&B, we heard beautiful opera music and found a small band of street musicians featuring a woman singing some amazing opera. We found ourselves a place sit out of the rain and listened for awhile before heading back to the B&B and enjoying the view of the Duomo right outside our window.



Fortunately the rain seemed to keep the revelry down a bit and things were a little quieter.

Our last day in Florence dawned rainy yet again, and we were disappointed as we were hoping for nicer weather on our drive through Tuscany that afternoon. But, there was nothing to do but forge on.

We started with a visit to the central market place, admiring the goods and picking up some cheese and bread for our car trip.


Then we headed back to the duomo to admire the interior of the cathedral, including the beautiful painted dome -


- and then climbed the 414 steps of the tower and take in the views.





Before going to find the bus to the airport, we made a stop at the church of San Lorenzo, where Donatello is buried.

Finding the airport bus was harder than you would think as there are no signs and asking people on the street often results in different answers (a common occurrence in Italy). We finally found a tourist information office and got good directions.

Once at the airport, we had no trouble at all picking up our rental car. Although, we did have a slight delay when another tourist couldn't figure out how to drive their car through the parking lot exit. Another person had to actually get out of his car and drive the offending car out of the lot so that we could all leave. Thus began our driving tour of Tuscany, and in the distance we could see some breaks in the clouds.

Click here to continue to Tuscany: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/tuscany.html

Other cities:
Venice: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/venice.html
Cinque Terre: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/cinque-terre.html
Pisa: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/pisa.html
Rome: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/rome.html
Naples: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/naples.html
Sicily: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sicily.html

Pictures:

Part 1

Italy 2010 JPGS

1-151: Venice
152-224: Cinque Terre
225-286: Pisa
287-384: Florence
385-606: Tuscany (Gropina, Siena, Massa Maritima, Chiusure, Montepulciano)
607-960: Rome


Part 2

Italy 2010Part 2 JPGS

962-1040: Pompei
1041-1054: Naples
1055-1106: Capri
1107-1129: Naples
1130-1168: Amalfi Coast
1169-1186: Naples
1187-1233: Sicily (From Catania to Puntalazzo)
1234-1282: Sicily (Mt.Etna and Puntalazzo)
1293-1354: Sicily (Enna and Agrigento)
1355-1391: Sicily (Catania)