Florence

We spent 5 nights in Florence and have taken a couple of side trips from here (Tuscany and Venice).

We stayed at a B&B called Le Tre Stanze. It was initially a very difficult place to find.  As is usually the case in Europe it had a very small sign and it was hard to see the first night that we were here. (the sign for the B&B is the little gray sign hanging below #43).  In this picture James is opening the very heavy door (and big) to our building.

This is the hallway that goes down to our room.  The door to get in looked more like a closet.  

It was one of the most unique places we have stayed. It had a bed in the exact middle of the room under a canopy and really cool ceilings.  We had a garden entrance and a kitchenette.

 

We arrived in Florence on Sunday late afternoon in a horrible rainstorm. We walked from the train to station to our apartment and got completely soaked.  It was Easter Sunday that day so we quickly put our stuff away and went to Easter Mass at the Duomo (Santa Maria del Flore) which was only half a block from our apartment.   This is a view of the Duomo from our street.

The Duoma is a huge church that was built in the 1400's.  It's facade is covered in green, pink and white Tuscan marble that was not put on until the 1800's.  It has the third longest nave in the Christendom. It is a massive building and almost impossible to describe.  We walked by it every time we left the house.

This is the view of the Duomo from across the river at Piazzale Michaelangelo.

We spent a couple of days wandering around Florence and doing some shopping.

Piazzo Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio

Santa Croce Church 

We went to the Uffizi Gallery today and the Accadamia earlier this week to see Michaelangelo's David.

James climbed the 436 stairs to the top of the Duomo's cuppola and took this beautiful picture of the city.





Florence has a nice, easy going flow to it.  The "feel" of this city is a lot different from Rome and much more quiet.

We are leaving in the morning for a quick stop in Pisa and then on to the Cinque Terre for our last couple of days in Italy.

Maija & James