Sunday, March 28, 2010

Road Trip to Italy: FLORENCE

We started our morning with a hearty breakfast as we knew we had several kilometers of walking ahead of us and needed a good way to start the day. Our first stop was to Duomo as it was a few minutes away from our hotel.

Duomo, Campanile and Baptistry.
Are you ready for some aerobic exercise? We are going to climb 400 plus steps up the Campanile.

We made it, out of breath but smiling!

We then got on our bikes to our next destination.

Santa Croce where you can find the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.
Possible inspiration for the Statue of Liberty?Michelangelo's Tomb. This monument was designed by Vasari in 1570 as Michelangelo never completed the tomb he had planned for himself. The figures are painting, architecture and sculpture.

Afterwards we walked across one of the bridges to take another panoramic view of the city. The steps lead to San Miniato al Monte. After catching our breath we admired the view.Piazzale Michelangelo We also walked to Forte di Belverede but when we arrived the gates were closed with a bulletin posted that it has been closed since 2008 pending an investigation of the death of a woman who died on the premises. This is the second death related to this place as two years prior a man was also found dead. Street St. Giorgio where Galileo once lived.
Arno river view from Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence to escape being blown up during World War II.

Entrance to Palazzo Vecchio, it still fulfills its original role as Florence's town hall.

Piazza della Signoria a unique outdoor sculpture gallery. Wouldn't you like to hang out here in the afternoons reading your favorite book?

Neptune Fountain, the Roman sea god surrounded by water nymphs.


This concluded our sightseeing for the day, I'm exhausted, how about you? Tomorrow we will see The Bargello and afterwards drive to San Gimignano to see the Tuscan countryside.

9 comments:

  1. Your photos are AMAZING!!! You got to see so many wonderful things!

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  2. Thank you Amanda! you see we did Most of the things you recommended, but in one day? It was difficult to select which photos to share, glad you liked them!

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  3. Love your pictures - you did some walking!! Did you actually walk up to San Miniato al Monte?waow! Very impressive!

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  4. Babs, yes we did walk up to the church and there was a nice elderly man by the entrance (we didn't go in) but he was asking for change and we gave him some,and he blessed us and our family.

    I don't know how many miles we walked but we eat plenty of gelato and pizza and pasta to balance everything out, LOL!

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  5. these pictures are amazing and your trip sounds like so much fun! a dream of mine to have an italy road trip someday ;)

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  6. thanks Thais, and when you get ready to make that trip, you will have lots of fun!

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  7. I am *envious* of your wonderful trip! but thank you for taking us with you through part of it - just lovely!

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  8. Florence architecture is amazing. Great photos, and thanks for sharing Elisa! :)

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Thank you for your comments!

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