Italy: Florence

Florence is going to be hard to capture in a single blog post.  There is so much there to see and do.  In the three days we spent in Florence I think we just skimmed the tip of the iceberg.

True to form we started our days in Florence with a walking tour.  The main focus of this tour was understanding the Renaissance.  After the last tour we wondered exactly what we were getting into.  I made a pact with everyone not to ask too many questions and draw undo attention to myself so we could institute an exit strategy if we needed to.  The tour was perfect and really helped us understand and appreciate the brilliance of the Renaissance.

While in Florence Eric and I also took a second tour to learn more about the Medici family and their influence in art, church and state during the renaissance time period.  My mom and dad were such troopers with all this walking, but they did bow out of the second tour and opted to try venturing out on their own.  I guess it went okay because we found them back at the hotel that evening.

The first morning in Florence we took a little break from all the art and architecture we had been seeing and toured the Galileo Museum.  I am just amazed at the enlightenment of man during the Renaissance period.   We were able to see a lot of scientific instruments as they developed through the ages, see some pretty amazing inventions and gain a greater understanding of some of the scientific laws we were familiar with through hands on exhibits.  It was  a good change of pace.

Palazzo della Signoia (also known as Palazzo Vecchio) was the town hall and the original place where Michelangelo's David stood.  Now there is a replica in its place.  We did also go to the Galleria de Academia to see the real David.

A trip to Florence wouldn't be complete without going through the Uffizi Gallery.  There was so much to see in the Gallery it was overwhelming.  Giotto, Carvaggio, Michelangelo, Bottielli, Rembrandt...the list goes on of the works of masters this gallery contains.

One of the highlights for Eric was finding all the places he read about in Dan Brown's Inferno.  I particularly enjoyed learning about Dante's life and seeing what may have influenced his writing of the Divine Comedy.

We were amazed by the great architecture of the Duomo (also known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Flore), the gates of Paradise and the painted ceiling in the baptistery.  I agree with Dan Brown, I am sure this is where Dante received his inspiration for the seven levels of hell.

We took a trip to the Santa Croce Church and visited the tombs of famous Florentines like Galileo, Michelangelo and Florence Nightingale.  Dante was eventually allowed to be buried here as well.

Tomb of Galileo

Tomb of Dante 

Tomb of Michelangelo

Tomb of Florence Nightingale 

We hit the Porchellino Market and the Central Market looking at the stands of local vendors and artists.

We visited the Museo di Palazzo Davanzati where we were able to see what life during the 14th century would have been like along with time period lace collections, needlework and furniture.

The Pitti Palace was beautiful and we were able to see some one-of-a-kind manuscripts in the museum there, but my favorite place was the Palace Gardens (Boboli Gardens).  Acres upon acres of manicured lawns, hedges, quiet nooks and scenic views.  It was beautiful.

Of course it is always fun to just walk the streets, do some people watching, and enjoy the street performers.

 By this time in the trip we were looking for some fast food, something without tomato sauce and pasta free.  Guess what we found - yep, a McDonald's.  My mom was so happy!

We noticed that a few of the street signs were a little bizarre, but we just thought it was Italian.  On one of our tours the guide told us about a local artist that goes around and changes the signs.  His name is Clet Abraham.  It is his idea of "street art."  The city officials aren't too keen on it and have caught him a few times over the past 4 years, but he continues to do it and more and more of his signs are being left up.  It was fun the rest of the time we were in Florence to see these unique signs and know the story behind them.

By the end of our three full days in Florence, we were pooped!  Thank goodness we had a train ride to Rome to get some much needed rest.