Ciao Firenze! |
We bid farewell to Venice, and headed by bus to our guide’s
hometown of Florence. On the way, we
stopped at the Autogrille for lunch, which had
very good food for an even better price. The Autogrille also had a great market with lots of souveniers and salami!
Later that day we arrived at our hotel; a former villa converted into a hotel, with a wonderful balcony views of the Medici City Hall and the timeless Duomo. |
Florence City Walk
After a quick rest and some time to get our luggage stowed away, we began our city walk of Florence. We started along the Arno River to the Ponte
Vecchio, the oldest bridge crossing the Arno River.
Having grown up in Florence, Cecilia was well versed on the history and the sights, but she does not have a tour guide license for Florence. In order for Cecilia to lead our walking tour, we needed a silent tour guide with us who had a license. As we walked along the Arno River, a policeman saw our tour group and stopped us. We were thinking that the policeman was going to pester us about not having a tour guide license, instead he told us about Andrea Boccelli singing on the Ponte Vecchio later that night to be followed by fireworks.
We continued our tour, stopping at the square in front of the Medici City Hall. Cecilia told us about the Bonfire of the Vanities and the burning of Savonarola who orchestrated the bonfires. Savonorola orchestrated these bonfires to destroy the 'sinful' worldly objects the Florentines were using as the Renaissance began, including books, mirrors and playing cards.
After turning the corner, we partook of a wonderful Italian treat, gelato. Cecilia had us order our two favorite flavors and compare them to the gelato we had in Venice. This is like trying to pick your favorite child, how could you choose?
While we were eating our gelato, we talked with the owner of the leather shop next door, and noticed the autographed Oklahoma Sooner football in a display case just inside the front window. We asked him about it, and he told us his brother was good friends with OU coach Bob Stoops. He proceeded to tell us that some customers came through from Texas, and seeing the OU football, wouldn’t buy anything from him until he displayed their Texas flag in his shop. It shows you that even on the other side of the world, you can always find something that reminds you of home.
Having grown up in Florence, Cecilia was well versed on the history and the sights, but she does not have a tour guide license for Florence. In order for Cecilia to lead our walking tour, we needed a silent tour guide with us who had a license. As we walked along the Arno River, a policeman saw our tour group and stopped us. We were thinking that the policeman was going to pester us about not having a tour guide license, instead he told us about Andrea Boccelli singing on the Ponte Vecchio later that night to be followed by fireworks.
We continued our tour, stopping at the square in front of the Medici City Hall. Cecilia told us about the Bonfire of the Vanities and the burning of Savonarola who orchestrated the bonfires. Savonorola orchestrated these bonfires to destroy the 'sinful' worldly objects the Florentines were using as the Renaissance began, including books, mirrors and playing cards.
After turning the corner, we partook of a wonderful Italian treat, gelato. Cecilia had us order our two favorite flavors and compare them to the gelato we had in Venice. This is like trying to pick your favorite child, how could you choose?
While we were eating our gelato, we talked with the owner of the leather shop next door, and noticed the autographed Oklahoma Sooner football in a display case just inside the front window. We asked him about it, and he told us his brother was good friends with OU coach Bob Stoops. He proceeded to tell us that some customers came through from Texas, and seeing the OU football, wouldn’t buy anything from him until he displayed their Texas flag in his shop. It shows you that even on the other side of the world, you can always find something that reminds you of home.
Mangiare! |
We walked along seeing the other sights of Florence,
including the Duomo and the bell tower, along the way to what would be one of
the most impressive meals of our lives!
It started out with a delicious bean and vegetable soup, which, if we were traveling on our own, would have been enough to satisfy us. This was followed by tortellini, which was even better than the soup. Then came the masterpiece, a large slab of beef that was set on fire at tableside for a grand finale. This along with the vegetables and the bread was about to do me in. Then came the desert tray, filled with all sorts of deliciousness from chocolate pie, to tirami su, to cheesecake, and I caught my second wind! To finish the meal there was limoncello and grapa! After a meal like this, it is quite easy to see why Florence is known the world over for its cuisine. |
Ponte Vecchio Fireworks
Being too full to walk briskly, we strolled back towards our
hotel, with a detour to a bridge with a view of the Ponte Vecchio. We couldn't hear Bocelli singing, but we found a good spot
where I could set up my tripod and take some photos of the fireworks lighting up the world
famous bridge.
Rise and Shine! |
The next morning, I woke up early to wander the streets and explore
the town on my own before the crowds appear and the
reflections disappear. Plus it is interesting to watch the town wake up and come alive.
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Palazzo Davanzati
After breakfast, we headed out to see the Palazzo Davanzati, a renaissance era
house furnished with period furniture and original paintings.
We then toured the town to see some frescos depicting the Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent, on our way to cooking class.
We then toured the town to see some frescos depicting the Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent, on our way to cooking class.
Cooking Class |
We learned that we CAN cook a great meal, as long as we don't have to find or measure the ingredients, and do have trained professionals looking over our shoulders! It was a great experience that was one of the more memorable things we did in Florence.
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The Duomo |
After lunch, my wife and I and
one of our newfound friends from the group climbed the 414 steps to the top of the
Duomo Bell Tower.
Brunelleschi's dome was the largest self supporting dome created since the ancient Romans. Michelangelo later used the Duomo as the inspiration for St. Peters dome. There is debate over which one you should climb, the Duomo itself or the bell tower. We chose to climb the bell tower, because from the bell tower, you get magnificent views of the Duomo and the entire town of Florence. |
Piazzale Michelangelo and Canoli |
When we finished our climb of the bell tower, we climbed to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo on the
hill behind our hotel to watch the sun set over Florence. Later we headed back
to our hotel as Cecilia announced that she had a surprise for everyone!
The surprise was an anniversary celebration for my wife and me! Cecilia bought the best cannoli I have ever had, and sparkling apple cider for our entire tour group. It really is amazing the individual attention you get on a Rick Steves tour. Between the Canolli, the spectacular sunset over Florence, and being surrounded by newfound friends really made this our most memorable anniversary yet. |
Uffizi Gallery |
The next day after my early morning walk, we headed to the
world famous Uffizi gallery to see the Renaissance masters’ most famous works.
The gallery is the former offices (uffizi in Italian) of the Medici family. It displays the artwork they collected and displayed to show off their opulence. They were patrons of the arts and were known to take in artists. They even took in a young Michelangelo, allowing him to pursue all of his interests including painting, sculpting and later, architecture. The gallery has numerous masterpieces, and it was essential to have a tour guide to show us the most famous artwork by artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Rafael! |
Si, Ho Spaghetti! |
After a morning of art appreciation, we stopped for
lunch at a small restaurant with customers reading Rick’s books, and artwork
advertising “Yes, we have spaghetti for cowboys from Texas.” So naturally, I had to have the
spaghetti.
While watching the Busses zoom by, mere feet from the window, I saw someone walk by with a Houston Astros shirt, our hometown baseball team. |
Central Market
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Refreshed, and with a full stomach, we ventured to the Florence central market to buy some olive oil and limoncello.
Shopping in American grocery stores, it is hard to fathom all of the different flavors of olive oil and limoncello options avainable in the central market. Fortunately we were up to the challenge to try as many of them as we could to make sure we found just the right ones. |
Santa Croce |
We made a quick detour to our hotel to drop off our olive
oil. Next, we were off to Santa Croce, the final resting place of the who’s
who of Florence, including Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante and others. Each monument was more ornate than the one
before it.
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David |
Our final night in Florence was spent admiring one of the world's
most magnificent pieces of renaissance art, and one of the best sculptures of
any era, Michelangelo’s David.
As an added bonus, there was a rule change in all of the museums we toured throughout Italy which allowed us to take photographs. I had seen David twice before, but this time I could take pictures! I took numerous photos from every angle, every side and every zoom level to make up for all the times I wasn’t able to take pictures. The level of detail is exquisite, from the veins on his hand to the tendons on the back of his knee. While it’s not the only work of art in the Academia Gallery, it is far and away the best, though the great master’s unfinished works, the Prisoners, have a unique allure of their own, as they give a glimpse into how the David was created, and forces you to use your imagination to envision what was to be. |
Arrivederci Firenze! |
We had one last Pizza dinner in Florence at a nice Pizzeria
recommended by Cecilia, and as always she didn’t disappoint. After that, we went back to our hotel to pack
up and prepare to leave for the Eternal City of Rome.
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