Florence I

Florence was so nice I’m going to write about it twice.

I loved Florence. It is a beautiful city, very easy to get around and the people were kind and so easy going.

The bus to the hotel was pretty easy to figure out and confirmed by the folks at the information center. You have to buy your ticket before you get on the bus but you can get them at about any store. On the way to the hotel an older woman was watching me as I was checking my map and watching for my stop. When I got off she did too and asked where I was going. I showed her my hotel name and she pointed it out to me, said it was very nice and had beautiful frescoes, said I would enjoy it.

The hotel was a former convent, built around a large courtyard that was shaded for most of the morning and again in the late afternoon. Perfect spot for reading, writing or just hanging out after a long day of sightseeing. The hotel was quiet except for one party held by a German group, complete with techno dance DJ! However, they shut down by 11:30 and only issue I had was that I didn’t get an invite, sounded like a great party!

The neighborhood was complete with supermarket, small fruit and vegetable shops and a local bar. I took advantage of them all. After a couple of weeks, eating out for lunch and dinner everyday got old. Fresh fruit, ripe tomatoes, bread and Parma ham or prosciutto made an easy lunch. Also found a great little restaurant that did food to go as well.

There was also a little square nearby, with about 8 restaurants. Two nights there was a violinist serenading the square and the other night it was a small trio playing. In the morning there were clothing and produce vendors set up. The center of the square had a raised area with lots of trees, a fountain and plenty of benches for socializing.

Florence is divided by the Arno river. I would walk down the hill in the morning, past the Pitti Palace and over the Ponte Vecchi and into the Old Town portion of Florence.

Here are a just a few of the views of the Ponte Vecchio, the Vecchio bridge. It initially had all sorts of tradesmen shops on it, now it is mostly high end stores for the tourists. It’s beauty hasn’t changed though.

In the morning, there both fisherman and recreational boaters on the river.

Once you are on the other side of the river you turn right along the river and soon come to the Uffizi main gallery. From the Pitti to the Uffizi there are artists set up everywhere with their easels. They have their artwork displayed for sale as well.

The other bridge that I used to go into the old town was the Gazie bridge.

Beyond the Uffizzi is the Duomo, the main cathedral of Florence. It is made of white and red marble and is itself a piece of art.

There are huge crowds around the front of the Duomo, tourists taking photos, tourists standing in line to get in and vendors selling anything and everything. This included an artist who had his painting on the ground so you could see it. Unfortunately, a cyclist didn’t see it and added his own embellishment, a tire track across one corner! The Duomo is so big it is impossible to get a complete photo of it up close.

There are a bunch of churches all over Florence and I preferred checking out some of the smaller ones. They each are their own works of art and the smaller ones don’t have as many tourists.

I didn’t get the name of this small church but it was such a nice respite to just sit inside and enjoy the artwork that went into creating it.

Florence itself is just like a giant art gallery:

Although everyone has their own opinion of what is art and what isn’t:

Sometimes the act of making art can be considered are itself:

It took me a while to get this shot of a statuary studio. The couple that were on the outside looking in, decided to go inside for a little tour. Good thing they did, I wandered around waiting for them to leave and found a bookstore with all the books in English!