Full Day of Fun and Surprises

I woke up at 4:30am and knew I just had to get out before all the crowds arrived to block the view of the most beautiful buildings in the world. I told Steve to sleep in and I would be back in time for our morning plans. Now I know lots of you are thinking “you walked the streets at night by yourself?!” Yes I did, but the streets are pretty much empty and this is the best time to take photos. Anyway, I looked a bit scary for anyone to mess around with me…ask my boys. The early morning greeted me with a light sprinkle of rain and it really felt great. I woke up instantly. As I walked by the Ponte Vecchio, I was surprised to see a group of young people sharing conversation as they admired the bridge. I guess they must have stayed up all night and didn’t want to waste a minute. Neither did I. Well, I ran around like a banshee taking pictures of all the areas Steve and I would be touring that day, and I got to all of them and some others I missed the day before.

Duomo before sunrise

Our first Stop was a visit Santa Maria Novella and took pictures of the exterior. It was not open yet so we ambled over to the Cappelle Medici. This building holds the tombs of the Medici family and was architecturally designed by Michelangelo. The phrase that says, don’t judge a book by its cover fits this building to a tea.  The beauty of this building lies within. You will see Sculptures, Art, and some of the Pope Leo X’s items. After all Florence was the Seat of the Catholic Church.

 

Santa Maria Novella

Next destination was the Duomo! There is nothing more beautiful or spectacular -  you see all three buildings standing in an intimate space only about 75 feet from each other. The Campanille which is attached to the Duomo, and the Battistero they are all so different but somehow create a sense of harmony. Wowsome! – wowsome is a word I made up and is combination of Wow and Awesome.  Even Steve who has seen more monuments then I can ever imagine was truly impressed to see these magnificent structures. We toured the interior of the Duomo and then we treated ourselves to a wonderful lunch sitting in the square under the watchful eye of the Saints who reside inside the walls of the Duomo.

The interior dome

Lunch at the Duomo

Last, how could we be in Florence and not visit the Galleria Uffizi which holds some of the greatest works of art by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and many more? The art is so marvelous and when we could not take another step we left the building to sit under the arches near the Ponte Vecchio and have a pistachio gelato cone before walking back to our hotel! We will be leaving Florence with great memories and lots of pictures to share. See you in Venice … Ciao!

Ciao !!