Italy – Day 4 through 6 – Florence

When we arrived, the city was in a Firenze.  The train depot was busy and the temperature was high as we departed the station with our baggage.  Instead of getting lost, we merely took the long, scenic way to our hotel, and when we arrived, our room was on the fifth floor, so the elevator was the way to go.  The man working the front desk spoke perfect English, mainly because he was from Brooklyn and moved to Italy to be with family and continue his family business of running the hotel.  Our rooms were very nice, split suites that shared a bathroom.  We had both air conditioners on full blast as soon as we entered the room.  After a cool off/power nap, we headed out to explore Florence.  Our host gave some recommendations for dinner and told us, “If you’re looking for good pizza, fugget about it.  These Florentino’s don’t know pizza.”  He did tell us he know of one place that serves real Napoli pizza, the only in the city, so we went there for dinner after exploring for a few hours.  While exploring, we got to see Boboli Gardens, the famous Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge, and lots of little shops selling their wares.

Lindz & Jenna with a strange statue at the Pitti Palace:

Boboli Gardens:

Us at the Boboli Gardens:

Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge):

Margharita Pizza, Napoli-style:

Our delicious daily habit, Gelato:

We sat an enjoyed our evening gelato in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella:

The next day, we went to go see Michelangelo's David, numerous other fine statues, and art that was stunning to say the least.  David really was remarkable.  Unfortunately, photos were not allowed, so instead people sat and relaxed in the presence of this masterpiece.

Later that day, we spent some time wandering the square where the Duomo was located.  The line to enter the Duomo, and the price, were a little too large for our tastes, so we decided to climb the tower next to the Duomo, and we were pleasantly surprised by the views.  Not only was this the best place to see the splendor of the Duomo, but we could see the entire city and for miles in every direction.  I loved being this high up, and took advantage of the chicken wire surrounding the top of the tower.

Piazza del Duomo:

Views of the Duomo and the rest of Florence from the Bell Tower:

The next day we gathered our possessions and made the trek back to the train station.  Traveling by train seemed easy to us by now, and we felt more at ease for the journey.  Our final city on our trip was Venice, the floating jewel of Italy.  Stay tuned…

~Blake