Firenza

Okay, so our hotel here is what you might call "quaint." I'm sure about 30 years ago it was very upscale...which would be appropriate...it's right across the street from Prada and on one of the most fashionable streets in the city: Gucci, Versace, Pucci, Armani, Tiffany and Bulgari are just steps from it's front door. HOWEVER, in 2009, the two person elevator that only goes up to the second floor - where reception is - and not all the way up to the fourth floor - where our room is - is a little concerning. Equally concerning is the air conditioning unit struggling to keep a room smaller than our bedroom back in Dallas cool. And forget about having anything but a sauna in the bathroom. The only time it's cool is about 5am. Having said all that, the hotel is very accessible, service is very friendly and helpful, and the price...very reasonable.


We checked in and headed out to find the Duomo...the symbol of Florence, its real name is the Santa Maria del Fiori (St. Mary of the Flowers). You'd recognize it:

What's weird, is that you walk through this labyrinth of tiny medieval streets, then, all of a sudden, you're thrust out onto a plaza and this is right in front of you. It's so beautiful, it stood me still for a minute or two. The marble is so white, so pink and so green. The architecture and the relationship between the baptistry, the bell tower and the church is like a chinese puzzle. It's overwhelming. I just stood there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed wondering to myself (and outloud) how? How? How does someone design and build something so incredibly beautiful, so ingenious and so iconic? How? First off, the baptistry dates back to the fourth century...making it one of Florence's oldest buildings. Its giant bronze chronicle man's life and path to paradise. The doors are amazing. The Dome is by Brunelleschi. It's wonderous because it was built in 1463...and was the largest of its time to be built without using scaffolding! The outside is six sided, the inside is round. What? There are two domes, one inside and one outside. The outer shell is supported by the thicker inner shell that acts as a platform for it. Bricks were set between marble ribs in a self-supporting herringbone pattern, a technique Burnelleschi copied from the Pantheon. The bell tower, or Campanile is shorter than the dome, but no less beautiful. And all the structures are covered in Tuscan marble. It's scary beautiful.



Now, you know that Joe and I love to travel. And we've always thought that if you're going to see the world...you need to see the world. Simply put: Go Big or Go Home.




So we climbed it. Yeah. See that little balcony at the top...just under that ball at the very top? Yeah, we climbed to that balcony. Three hundred and some-odd stairs. Holy Crap!

But totally worth it.












Then there's always some hilarious American:



Fail.

The next day we had reservations at the Academia. That's where Michelangelo's David is. I don't have any pictures to upload because they won't let you take any, but I'm sure you know who/what I'm talking about. The statue is beautiful. Huge. Impressive. It's one piece of marble, but the detail in the muscles and the veins is incredible. I never knew he was holding his slingshot behind him (this IS David of David and Goliath, after all), but it looks almost like he's about to dry himself off with a small towel. Personally, I'd like to dry him off.

After a stroll around the center city and a delicious lunch, we had reservations at the Uffizi, one of the best renaissance art collections in the world, in the former Medici residence (that rich family that once pretty much ruled Florence). Housed at the Uffizi, among other things, is Botticelli's Birth of Venus...it is achingly beautiful. Also at the Uffizi, Caravaggio's Bacchus, several da Vincis and an amazing collection of ancient Roman Imperial busts. Wow!

And behind a curtain where restoration was going on...guess what I saw... a warthog. The same one I've stuck my fingers in in Sydney and in Munich. I think what I saw was the cast...perhaps he is somewhere in the city...I'll have to find him.

Ciao ciao!