Firenze

The past day and a half we spent in one of my favorite big cities in Italy: Florence. Even with it's dirt and grime, the street vendors, the strange smells, the street beggars and the hoards of tourists it is still one of my favorites. I'm not really sure what it is about this city, maybe the art, the history, the architecture, the juxtaposition of the old and new, all combine with a laid back easy atmosphere make it what it is. 

We got up bright and early to meet up across town with our group and walk to the bus station. Our bus left around 10 and it took about an hour and a half to get there. When we arrived we had to wait a few minutes for the rest of our group to arrive. The first bus was completely full so the bus driver had to call another bus to take part of our group and some others trying to get to Florence. 

Our first stop of the day was Santa Maria Novella where we saw Masaccio's Trinity, the first painting to use geometric perspective. This church was constructed over a span of about 80 years beginning in 1279 and is an example of early Renaissance architecture made of Florentine marble. The most powerful family in Florence, the Medici's commissioned Vasari to re-paint the inside of the church during the high Renaissance. 

Next we went to the Central Market for lunch. It is a big indoor market with butchers, bakers, fish mongers, fruits, veggies, pasta, you name it, you're more than likely going to find it. We had a scrumptious pasta lunch. Steph and I shared tortellini and lasagna. Delicious. I'm coming to find you really just can't go wrong with food in Italy! 

After lunch we walked over to the Academia where we were hoping to go in and see Michaelangelo's David but alas, the line was much too long and the sun much too hot to stand outside and wait to go in. So our group turned around and trekked to Florence's impressive Duomo. The outside is incredible. Such detail in the marble/stone cutting, the sculpture, the design and the size (it is HUGE!). The inside of the cathedral is not nearly as ornate as the outside with the exception of the dome. 

Next we headed over to Santa Croce, known as the Westminster of Italy, since it is where many of Italy's most famous are buried. Though the church is not very ornate, it was a nice change from some of the other churches that have art, stained glass, sculpture and inlaid floor designs. We saw the tomb of Galileo, Michaelangelo and Machiavelli among many others. 

Steph and I broke off from the group to go check into our room for the night after we finished Santa Croce. Our room was just off the main square in town. We had a little trouble finding the place. At first we had not gone far enough down the street and then when we did no one was in the apartment. We were walking up the stairs as our host was going down the elevator, but he eventually found us and showed us to our room. It was simple, but very pretty. The beds were comfortable, the room was clean and the hosts were great, plus it was a fantastic location right in the heart of Florence for a reasonable price! I would definitely go back and and stay again. 

We took a little rest in the room after we had been walking all day with our heavy backpack. We met up with our group around 4:20 about a block away at the Uffizi museum. This is one of my favorite places. It can be a bit overwhelming, but we walked through and saw some famous pieces of art we wanted to see including the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, Boteccelli's Primavera and Birth of Venus and a handful of others pieces. 

We said goodbye to our group and headed back to our room for a while to rest. Our feet were still killing us! We facetimed with Mama and then went out for dinner. We ended up wandering around for a while and then found a place right outside the Duomo. After dinner we got some gelato and meandered around the Palazzo Vecchio. It was so much nicer at night after the big tour groups were gone.

This morning we had to be out by 10 am, so we slept until about 9:30. It was nice to sleep in this morning and not have anywhere we had to be. So we walked across the Ponte Vecchio the only original bridge left in Florence after World War 2. The Ponte Vecchio is lined with expensive jewelry shops which have their roots in the Renaissance period when the Medici family kicked out the original butchers and tanners and brought in jewelers and goldsmiths in an effort to make the area nicer. 

We walked along the other side of the Arno river, then crossed back over the river and headed toward the bus station. I most enjoyed just wandering the streets of Florence on our way back to the bus station. We found a little bakery where we got a croissant for breakfast and then found a souvenir shop before we got to the bus station. We made it in time for the 11:10 bus, so we arrived back in Siena around 12: 40 just in time for a thunderstorm.

As we pulled into the bus station it began to drizzle. We thought if it can just hold off until we get home  we'll be fine. Well it started to rain harder, and harder, and harder and then it started to hail. We finally ducked into a covered alley way to wait for it to let up. It hailed for probably 10 minutes or more and then continued to rain. So we bought some umbrellas and made our way to the apartment. Even with the umbrella's we were still pretty wet when we got home. 

This afternoon we just took it easy. We went to the grocery store, souvenir shopping, napped and took care of some things here at the apartment. We made egg drop soup for dinner and then went to the campo for a bit to hangout. April figured out how to work the washing machine so we are currently trying to wash a load of clothes. But it's been over 2 hours and it's still not done washing...

Well now you're all caught up. The next few days should be exciting because Pre-Palio events begin tomorrow. Until then, Ciao!