Florence, Italy

Posted on | June 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

View from our hotel room in Piazza della Signoria

Goodness! It appears to be taking me longer to tell you about my trip than it did to actually take it!

So here we go!

Onward to Firenze (Florence)! The drive to Florence was uneventful, which we like. The drive was beautiful. We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast, Residenza d’Epoca in the Piazza della Signoria. Each room has its own decor and flavor based on an artist. We stayed in the Leonardo room, overlooking the Piazza. What a fabulous view! (see right) Just behind those statues is the Uffizi.

Carousel at Piazza Della Republica Firenze, Italy

We walked around Florence, to the markets and ended up in the Piazza della Republica for our daily gelato and espresso. We went to Gilis - a cafe that has been in Florence since 1733 – and we lucked out. They also had sorbet, which meant I could enjoy some cool refreshment, too! While we sat there, among all the grey Parisian-style buildings, was a colorful carousel. It just begged to be drawn! So I drew it and the building behind it. With more time to sit, I decided I needed to draw some more, and so I drew a window from across the Piazza from the cafe. The architecture is so staid and yet there is so much life in the streets – street vendors, people talking on cell phones and rushing to meetings, and tourists taking photos and looking at menus.

Window at the Piazza della Republica, Firenze, Italy

Ponte Vecchio, Firenze, Italy

We, of course, walked over the Ponte Vecchio, which was right near our hotel. What a crazy place! People everywhere! We looked at a lot of the fabulous jewelry there, but didn’t buy anything.

We decided that there was so much to see that we needed to get some tours in. We took the most amazing tours with Artviva.

We highly recommend them.

Lamp Post in Firenze, Piazza della Republica

We took two tours with them, The David Tour and the Original Florence Walk. Seeing Michelangelo’s David in person is a breathtaking experience. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing the sculpture is in person. And our tour guide for this tour is, himself, a marble sculptor, so we had his fabulous perspective. We learned all about the history of the statue, of Michelangeo’s life and how he came to create the David.

Duomo tower in Florence

The next morning, our last in Florence, we took the three-hour Original Florence Walk. I was concerned, since it was toward the end of our trip and it was a lot of walking, but it was so fascinating that I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. Our tour guide had a great social history perspective and clearly had studied art history, as well. The tour was incredibly interesting and exhausting! Afterwards, we went to lunch.

Reflection of the Palazzo Vecchio in a window across the Piazza della Signoria

I did a lot of drawing and we really enjoyed our time in Florence. After lunch, we headed out on our trip to Milan. More on that tomorrow!

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