Firenze (Florence), Italy - What all tourist towns should be like

Ah Firenze! When last here I fell in love with the city and hoped to return someday. Now that I have made it back, I am reminded why I swooned over your narrow passageways, your amazing architecture and the art of the masters. There really is something special about this city and the Florentines know it. They take such pride in sharing their masterpieces and their city with the entire world. This is the first place where I haven’t been annoyed by all of the tourists and how we are all ruining the sites. Throughout the world we humans are stepping where we shouldn’t, touching time worn monuments and generally spoiling the beauty for those who might follow. But here, in a city that is hundreds of years old, the crowds are subdued, the streets are clean and the restaurants/gelaterias are welcoming and yummy! I cannot explain it, but this is a city I truly love!

We arrived by train in the afternoon and, after turning our luggage into “backpack mode” to avoid the cobble on the wheels, climbed 3 flights of narrow stairs to get to our wonderful apartment. We immediately hit the grocery store and had a field day! Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, bread, pasta, wine and ready made lasagna made for a great evening in prepping for the Duomo early on our first full day.

We've rarely put it to use, but having convertible luggage comes in handy sometimes. 

We were quite concerned with our accommodation at first as we entered to a dust covered construction site. Fortunately it was limited to the floors below and the hours were while we were out. Check out that ceiling. 

We really lucked out with our apartment. It was a huge newly remodeled three bedroom place about 100 meters from the Ponte Vecchio. This is the view in both directions from our fourth floor pad.

200g of fresh Prosciutto please. 

3/28/18 - La cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria del Fiore 
The famous Duomo of Florence is the site to see. Situated in the heart of the city it towers over everything and is simply gorgeous. It is made of 3 shades of marble (red, white and green - get it?) and has beautiful carvings everywhere. The inlaid marble is delicate and stunning while the inside of the cathedral is very plain. You are able to climb to the top of the dome but unfortunately we did not realize we had to get reservations so far in advance online (couldn’t do this the last time we were here)  and they were sold old for days to come. We hoped arriving early we could procure some on site, but alas no such luck. We were, however, one of the 1st to climb to the top of the bell tower which is just as good (if not better b/c you can see the dome instead of being on it) and viewed a beautiful morning sun rising over the surrounding hills. By the time we climbed down, explored the cathedral itself along with it’s baptistry and underground museum we were beat and ready for lunch.

Ascending the Bell Tower

The austere interiors

Steve captured the details of the exteriors. Every surface has a story to tell.

We headed over to the San Lorenzo market where they have turned the 2nd floor into a yummy food hall. Silly Bryce actually had steamed Chinese pork dumplings while I feasted on Arancini and salad. We are nothing if not eclectic!

We wandered a bit more but the boys were tired so after dropping them back off at the apartment, Autumn, Steve and I meandered over to Piazzale Michelangelo for amazing views over the Arno to Firenze. The city was beautiful to see from such a lovely spot but the people watching was amazing. It really is a favorite pastime of mine and one I could do for hours in places where there are people from so many different places. The fashion, the languages, the behaviors, the families, the couples, the dogs and even the wild birds were just fascinating! We were pretty hungry after returning home, but also tired of Italian food so we settled on Chinese and had a great evening out!

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno

Autumn getting all fancy and meta

Gap year millennials doing Florence on the cheap. Everyone had panini's and bottles of label-less wine. No doubt we would be there too (if we didn't have two boys back at the apartment).

3/29/18 - David
 It’s who there is to see in this town. Millions come from far and wide just to see this one statue. Steve and I have seen him before (and were impressed) and we wanted the kids to have a good understanding of the statue and its significance in the world of art, so we thought a guided tour would be just the thing. We were wrong. They were bored and exhausted by the time it was over and just wanted to get out of the “stuffy museum”.  Steve and I were still impressed and glad we did it anyway!

Pictures can't really capture how amazing this statue really is. 

Steve liked the incomplete statues that lead up to David. 

David is in a museum that doubles as one of the most prestigious art academies on the planet. This room is dedicated to the plaster casts for students to use in their training.

The kids needed to find a bit more modernity in the nearby Tiger store (Tiger is a Denmark dollar type store that seems to be making a splash outside of the states)

 We knew ahead that the kids would be tired of churches and museums by this point so we found a museum with hands on activities - The DaVinci Museum - and it was a hit. While small and somewhat dark, the museum houses actual models of some of DaVinci’s inventions that we could all play with! There is also a section in the back with wood “sticks and beams” that allows you to make your own dome and bridge. Obviously, Steve (an engineer by education) and the boys (who love to build things) spent a good hour here trying to make it all work. Autumn and I, not as enthralled sat on the floor and played games on our phones :-P

By the time this was through we were starving and gelato was just the thing to alleviate the pangs of hunger. We think we have found the best in Italy (well so far) at the end of the bridge just south of the Ponte Vecchio - The Ponte Santa Trinita with a gelateria named for the bridge. After such a full day by the evening the boys did not want to venture out again, so we left them behind and enjoyed a nice Italian meal out with Autumn! A perfect last meal in a perfect little city in Italy!

Cookies (& Cream) on top of a peanut like grey gelato. Delicious. 

All for now... Next Stop: Tuscany Road Trip

PS: One of the things that makes Florence so special is that they effectively block all regular cars from the main tourist area making the entire town in to a walking promenade. The only vehicles allowed are delivery trucks, authorized taxis, and residents with permits. One of the things that we really liked (especially the kids) was finding how someone has turned the no entry signs in to a city wide art project. It's particularly endearing that the city lets it happen.

It's amazing what you can do with a little black, red, and blue tape....