Florence

Day 1

Our first full day in Florence, we went to the Uffizi Galleria first thing. The line was a bit long, but nothing compared to the one we endured outside the Vatican. The Uffizi Galleria houses many early renaissance paintings. I hate to say this, but eventually I started to get sick of them, there were so many paintings that looked the same. The  Galleria's main attractions were Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera. Both are extremely beautiful and famous. Primavera is especially interesting because nobody knows for sure what all the symbolism in the painting means. On the first floor of the museum there was a special exhibition of Caravaggio's works, or so it seemed. When you first enter into the exhibition you see one of Caravaggio's most identifiable pieces, a Medusa head on a ceremonial shield. This was very exciting. What followed was not. The rest of the exhibit contained paintings done by artists impersonating Caravaggio, copying is style and sometimes his actual paintings. That was not what I was hoping for so I couldn't help but leave feeling a little disappointed. 

After leaving the Uffizi, we went out to lunch together. I must say, I prefer the food in Florence to the food in Rome. Next, I wandered off on my own.

 Florence is a very small city. I love it. I took a walk across the river and ended up at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine. It was in a much less touristy part of town which was nice. I felt like I was getting a more authentic taste of Italian culture. I went inside the Basilica but didn't stay long, although the frescos were beautiful, there was a service taking place just past the entrance and I didn't want to be intrusive. I plan to go back to the Basilica next time I'm in Florence. 

 Eventually we met back up outside of the Basilica di Santa Croce, resting place of many historical figures.

We saw Galileo's tomb.

 And Michaelangelo's tomb.

Also present were the tombs of Marconi, Leonardo DaVinci, and many others. You can find a complete list here: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Santa_Croce,_Florence

After visiting the tombs and the museum at Santa Croce we headed back to the center of Florence and the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo. It is impossible to stand any distance back from the Basilica to get a picture of the whole thing. All I could do was get little pieces of the enormous structure like the photo above.

 Right across from the Duomo, literally only 50 feet away are the famous Florence Baptistry doors, designed by Andrea Pisano. They are bronze cast and covered in gold.

 Here is a close up of one of the panels. The detailing blew me away.

 We wandered around the city a for the rest of the afternoon. These shots are just some examples of what I saw. 

 Beautiful architecture.

Incredible art through cracked open doors in alleyways.

 Here is a shot of the Arno river and the buildings along one side.

Here you can see the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge spaning the Arno. It is lined with high end jewelry shops and is the oldest bridge in Florence. 

We passed by the old Medici palace. The place is surrounded by replicas of the statues that used to sand there.

That evening, after a delicious Italian dinner, we climbed to the lookout point. I couldn't get any good shots of the city, but it was beautiful. This picture makes it look much darker than it was. The whole city was lit up and we could point out all of the major buildings. It was really an incredible view. I also discovered that Florence is surrounded by hills that were dotted with lights. That was the end of my first day in Florence and I had fallen in love already. The city is small and cozy with so much to offer.

I would move there in a heartbeat.