Storyline: Virtual Itinerary
Florence! The home of Renaissance art and architecture, and the capital of Tuscany. With famous gourmet cuisine, this medieval city on the banks of Arno River captivated our hearts with its charming narrow cobbled streets, fresco-decorated churches and basilicas, marble statues and vibrant night life.
After dashing through the rain to find our apartment where we’d stay the next few days, we discovered that we were right in the centre, literally 5 minutes away from all major attractions. The apartment was in one of the old Florentine buildings with new elements, such as a modern bathroom. The preserved old parts of the building displayed beautiful mosaic floors.
Being in a very busy area and next to the hospital, one would think it would be a noisy place. Not at all! It was amazing how quiet it was when one closed the windows! I think our window manufacturers have a lot to learn from the windows installed here. It literally canceled the noise from the street! No doubt the thick stone walls had something to do with it too, but the difference in noise level from the street between windows open and closed was dramatic.
Our new home was around the corner from Dante’s house, just a step away from many cafes, bars, inexpensive restaurants and the typical medieval buildings of the ancient centre of Florence.
We didn’t have a lot of time here, but managed to cover the basics. The line up to enter the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Brunelleschi’s Duomo (dome) and Campanile (bell tower) was unimaginably long. Many had bought tickets, including skip the line, online. All done way in advance. Those who hadn’t were lined up all the way around the curve of the Duomo’s walls.
The details of our days are usually left to spontaneity, so wondering how to approach this issue, we walked into the information center/ticket bureau across the street from the Baptistery of St. John. It had a few counters and just a few tourists inside. Asked at the counter how to get tickets and they pointed to the self-serving station behind us. What a surprise it was when we could buy an entrance ticket for the next hour, 2pm.
And so, armed with tickets we joined the small group of people that were waiting for the 2pm admission. As simple as that.
After climbing in total 877 steps of Duomo and Campanile plus return, the 81 steps leading up to our apartment looked like an anthill. We thought we’d take it easy for the rest of the day and no more stairs please. Then we walked by Uffizi to check out a good time to visit. It was open till 10PM that day! We almost had the place for ourselves!!! Plus, another 150 steps!
We enjoyed Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo and many others almost alone. That was such a great experience and all done in a day, our first full day in Florence.
Don’t want to overwhelm you with the details of historical monuments, architecture and art museums in Florence. We just assume that if one has interest in Florence, they at least know about the Dome of the Florence Cathedral, where to find Michelangelo’s David or The Deposition (Florence Pieta), and what’s in the Uffizi Gallery.
The next day, after finding out that it was too late to be one of the first in line to see David in the Accademia, we decided to explore the city.
We walked old Florence end to end, enjoyed the cobbled stones, explored the Tuscan cuisine, crossed the river many times and admired Ponte Vecchio by day and later at night. Walking home we noticed a little sign on a street crossing ours, just around the corner. It said that there would be an organ concert at 7pm. Entrance fee 5 Euros! And you know it – we were there. A small church, barely noticeable from outside, and a great performance by a prominent French composer and organist Jean Guillou. Our cultural hunger was sated.
The next morning we got up early and concluded our Florence adventure by visiting the Accademia, enjoying the exceptional work of Michelangelo.
And it was time to dash to Pisa the same and last day of our stay in Florence.
Climbing this leaning tower was something different! After climbing the narrow steep stairs of the Duomo and Campanile in Florence, another 300 marble steps seemed like a breeze.
Plus, the traffic was regulated – groups of about 30 were allowed in every 15 min. Just compare this to the chaotic, unregulated crowds on the one-way steps near the top of the Duomo, where traffic comes to a complete stop (like on Toronto highways).
We were asked to check even the smallest purses at the Tower, scanned for weapons and guarded by armed soldiers.
Once in – steps were quite wide, yet on the third turn I was already disoriented and dizzy. This tilted thing throws you off from one side to the other.
I was glad that at least 50% of the visitors felt the same way and even slow me was asked to slow down for someone feeling worse than me. Aside from this and everyone holding the walls trying to get their balance, climbing was easy. The disoriented effect lasted for a few hours after, like when when stepping onto land after days at sea.
Alex did not admit to any of those effects, however the truth was revealed when he spilled his beer in the bar after exiting the tower (no photo proof as it was unexpected).
Our last Italian stop in 2016 was Milan, which I have already covered. Following our unrealized 2020 itinerary, the next post will take us close to 30 years ago. Stay tuned.
If you are new to the “Virtual Itinerary” storyline: All the stories here are real, although from the past, some from a quite distant past. It covers travels to countries and places we had in our real Spring 2020 itinerary. If not for Covid-19 we’d be traveling right now.
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