This is the third post in our Italy/Switzerland recap. The first two cover Rome, Part I and Part II.
On our fifth morning in Italy, we hopped on a high speed train for the ninety minute ride from Rome to Florence. After getting settled in our apartment, we headed out for some food and sightseeing. Sandwiches, gelato, and the Duomo, in that order.
Florence’s Duomo was constructed beginning in 1296, and the city’s main church has a much different feel than St. Peter’s in Rome. While much smaller, it is still immense, and covered in pink, white, and green marble.
I was struck by how different the church looked at night than it does during the day.
We climbed our second dome in as many days, walking up the 463 steps (no elevator!) to the top. The previous day’s climb to the top of the Basilica was a cake walk compared to this one; the Duomo’s steps are narrow, the ceilings are low, and we had to step aside often to let people going the opposite way through. We finally emerged to breathe in fresh air.
The tower on the left is the Duomo’s bell tower. That bell woke us up every morning, but it beats an alarm clock.
Once we took in the beautiful view from the top, I hated to go back down those steps with all the other sweaty tourists, but what can you do?
You can have another gelato. So we did.
We spent the rest of our first day wandering the city, which was refreshingly smaller and easier to navigate than the maze of Rome. We stopped by the Palazzo Vecchio, the symbol of Florence’s civic power for over 700 years.
Outside of the Palazzo is a replica of Michelangelo’s David. The original stood there from its creation in 1504 until 1873, when it was moved to its current home in the Accademia. I wonder how many tourists take a photo with the full-sized replica, thinking they are seeing the real thing.
We did see the real thing the next day, during our Day of Art. None of us are art aficionados, but when in Florence, one must see the great works of Renaissance art. In the morning we toured the Galleria dell’ Accademia, where the real David is the star.
Created between 1501 and 1504, the statue was originally supposed to be placed high on the Duomo. This may be why his right hand and head are disproportionately large, since he was to be viewed from a distance.
I was surprised by how this statue affected me; I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. Michelangelo took a cold piece of stone and turned it into a man who looks like he could step off the pedestal and walk out of the building.
Lining the hall leading up to David are partially finished sculptures by Michelangelo; you can see the marks from his chisel in the stone.
Even unfinished, the bodies appear to be climbing out of the rock.
In the afternoon, we checked in for our guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The kids weren’t dying to go, but I booked a tour so that we could get more out of the visit than cursory glances at seemingly random pieces of art. As we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, Gwen spotted Justin Tucker, the Baltimore Ravens’ kicker. He and his wife ended up being on our tour – what are the chances? We chatted with them for a few minutes before the tour, and they were both lovely. I’m sure my kids were more pumped about spending two hours with Justin than they were about seeing famous art.
While I’m glad we visited the Uffizi, I could have toured it in about half the time that we spent there. I can only see so many Madonna and Child pieces before my eyes start to glaze over. However, it was cool to see works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Rembrandt, and Botticelli – all names even I knew.
The Birth of Venus (circa 1484) – ever heard of it?
The building was built to house the offices of Florentine magistrates (uffizi means offices), and I thought the architecture was more stunning than most of the artwork.
We ended our Day of Art with a gorgeous sunset on Piazzale Michelangelo. The walk and climb was worth it to get this view of the Duomo and the city.
The Duomo and its bell tower are on the far right; the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio is on the left.
When the sun set, the crowd gathered in the Piazzale literally gasped and applauded.
On our last day in Florence, we had no reservations and no tours. After six days of nonstop sightseeing, it was wonderful to just wander with no destination. We shopped at the Leather School of Florence and walked over Ponte Vecchio to Oltarno (the part of Florence on the other side of the Arno River).
With the help of my trusty guidebook (on my phone), we found the Porta San Frediano. Part of the medieval walls of the city, the door was built between 1332 and 1334.
The rings are where horses were hitched; now cars drive right through.
That is my family in front of the doors. I had to stand in the middle of the street to get this shot; Matt is making sure I don’t get run over by a car. The kids are wondering when I’m going to stop taking photos.
Thoughts on Florence
This was my favorite city in Italy. I can’t tell you exactly why; I just loved everything about it. While there were fewer attractions than Rome and Venice, I could spend weeks there just getting lost in the neighborhoods, restaurants, shops, and museums.
The gelato in Florence was the best we had in Italy. It was so good we had it six times in three days, and twice here:
My go-to flavor combination was coconut and chocolate, the darker the better.
Cumulative gelato count after one week: fourteen. And each one was worth it.
Next stop, Venice! Until then–
Aah! Gorgeous. Florence is my husband’s all-time favorite city. (I don’t think it’s too shabby either.)
It’s one of my faves now too – I hope to go back!
What a gorgeous trip, Dana! I was going to ask about the gelato count, but I see you know your readers and added it in already!
Yes I did 🙂
Oh I meant to ask if you had your FitBit tracking steps or didn’t you ever get it?
I did use my FitBit! We walked five miles on a slow day, up to 10 or 12 on a busy one.
That sunset picture gave me goosebumps before I even wrote what you said. Sooooo beautiful! And wow to the “vein” detail in David’s hand!
I know, right? Unbelievable detail.
Oh, Florence. Such a beautiful city! The Husband and I actually got lost in Florence on our honeymoon and almost missed our boat! It’s so crowded, and there’s so much to see. Thank you for all the pictures and notes. If we ever get back there, they’ll be a starting point for our touring!
I hope you do get back there one day, Leslie!
What are the chances you’d find the Ravens’ kicker? What if it was Big Ben, though?
I did love the arrows. I kind of wish you did it on other photos, too.
Was the 14 gelato count for you only, or the fam? What was your record for one day?
I just asked about Big Ben – my kids would still want to meet him. An NFL player is an NFL player, after all.
We all had 14 gelatos between the two cities – the record was three in one day. That was a day that was hot and involved dome climbing, so it was totally justified.
I had so much gelato when I was in Italy. The calories don’t count there right? 😉 (Besides, with all the walking you do, it totally evens out.)
I liked Florence the best of all the cities I visited in Italy as well. The Duomo is absoluting stunning!
I’m totally with you on art museums!
Calories absolutely do not count! And you’re right – we walked at least six miles a day, usually more.
Absolutely makes me want to drop everything and fly to Florence today. NOW. I loved all your photos however the one of the Duomo and its pink marble is incredible. Just the right amount of pink. Happily my daughter has introduced me to a gelato shop here in Vancouver that is wondrous. Lineups all day, every day. My pants are getting tighter by the minute. However our architecture isn’t one speck of the beauts you are seeing.
My mother taught in the Fine Arts Dept at the University of British Columbia years ago and I was her slide projectionist for awhile. Your post today brought back so many memories.
We don’t have a gelato place nearby, which is probably a good thing.
You would have loved to see all of that famous artwork in person, Kelly. It really is amazing. I don’t think my kids fully appreciated it, but that will come with age.
Oh Dana! The pictures are amazing. I’ve wanted to see Florence ever since my sophomore year of college, when I took a Course on the Renaissance. Of the art and history in that city. And it is so pretty. Some of these photographs need to be blown up and framed for your hone!
That’s the plan, Allie – once I can wade through them all. You would love Florence – I hope you can go one day.
Florence is my favorite city! I spent a summer of college in Arezzo (maybe an hour in train to Florence) and I got to go a few weekends. It was so amazing. I’ve loved hearing about your trip!
Thanks, Nina. My daughter plans to study abroad, and I think she’d go back to Florence in a heartbeat. And of course I would have to visit!
That sunset turning the river into gold is just awesome!!
You definitely need gelato with all that walking!! Yum!!
Yep – fortunately we walked off all those calories!
Very cool! Seems like a lovely city. I am always amazed by the architecture and construction from ancient times. I can’t even imagine how they made so may magnificent things!
I think about that too, Lisa. Even though it took years to build these structures, the fact that it was done without modern machinery is amazing.
Gorgeous photos! I really want to go to Italy now – if just for the David sculpture and gelato 🙂 You picked the exact flavors I would have. So glad you were able to go! Isn’t the world incredible?
It really is – and I’ve seen such a small part of it!
Can I just say the picture from the Piazzale Michelangelo is stunning. I can imagine it was fantastic in person. My son is convinced he is now a museum fan after seeing your family’s picture with Justin Tucker. He asked why there weren’t any pro athletes when we visited the Uffizi. Ah, kids. If it was only that easy.
Looks like you had a blast!
Ha – my son will always love the Uffizi because of Justin Tucker! It really was the perfect tour to be on with him, because it was the least exciting tour for my kids.
So glad we walked all the way up to the Piazzale Michelangelo – it was worth it!
You know I live in Florence, right? Florence, MA, that is. It’s a neighborhood of Northampton.
(Almost the same thing)
I’m loving the fake David shot and the real David shots. Like.. it’s stunning.
And I want gelato. And pizza. We have Florence Pizza here but it’s not the same. I know you didn’t dwell on pizza (I don’t skim) but I’m dwelling on pizza right now because it’s lunchtime.
You’ve written about the Baltimore Ravens before! How cool. I wouldn’t have recognized that man – happy to see how friendly he seemed.
There’s a Florence, South Carolina, too – my wallet was stolen there. 🙁
We are big Ravens fans, so even I would have recognized Justin Tucker. Any other team? Forget it. And he and his wife were so friendly and gracious, which made all of us like him even more.
I love the arrows on that photo of your kids. Cracked me up.
Me too 🙂 Sometimes I think I’m the only person I amuse, so thank you for saying that.
Beautiful city and that sunset!!!! Stunning! I think that booking tours at art museums is the way to go. I’m not one who could spend an entire day looking at art but when I’m at a museum, I appreciate a bit of guidance so I know a) what to look at and b) and explanation of what I’m seeing.
That’s exactly how I felt, Mo. We would have been wandering around that huge museum looking for familiar artists if we hadn’t been on a tour. And we would have been finished in under an hour!
Such a beautiful city… and I love that you’re keeping a gelato count 🙂
I loved it too, until it kept creeping up and up. Maybe it would have been better to not know how many I ate!
The photos are amazing. And I love hearing your thoughts on the museums. I’ve been in Florence (both for a short time) and never did the museums. Strolling through the streets was my favorite part. Wine outside the Duomo was a highlight too. I am loving these travel posts of yours!
I’m so glad, Christie! I’m having fun going through all the photos and reminiscing.
Dana your pictures look like postcards what an awesome awesome trip
I think Florence is my favourite city in Italy too. There’s just something about it… And the gelato is to die for!!!
Tell me about it, Leah. Or tell my hips about it!
What a gorgeous city and the gelato alone would have kept me coming back for more as I absolutely love anything coconut to be honest!! 😉
Me too, especially if it’s paired with chocolate!