Let’s start at the beginning. I apologize ahead of time because my heart is bursting with emotions and my fingers are typing with great excitement … this may be a long blog, but I warned you!
It was easy getting started on this great adventure to Florenc, all we had to do was buy our ticket at the Centrale Station just a Metro stop away from our house. So we thought. Browsing through the options on the Self Service ticket machines of all the places you could travel on the train, we just couldn’t seem to find “F L O R E N C E.” We kept on searching… “F. L. O. R. E. N. C. E.” But nothing would come up. Finally we decided we needed help and it was Brock’s turn to initiate conversation with the locals, so he ask a kind, young woman who looked like she just might speak a little English.
“Parle Inglese?” (Do you speak English?)
“Si” she replied. (Yes.)
“Come si dice Florence? We can’t find it.” (How do you say Florence?)
“Firenze.”
“Oh, ok. Firenze? Can you spell it?”
After her help, spelling and all, we figured out why we just couldn’t find Florence when we looked for F.L.O.R.E.N.C.E. It was F.I.R.E.N.Z.E. we were looking for; the Italian spelling not English! And we found it! We bought our tickets and we were good to go! So we thought. We found our train at its bin and we boarded. We realized we didn’t have a seat number on our ticket so we sat down at the first available seats we found. We remembered we selected “Available Seat” so maybe that meant we just sit where we see a seat available. Logical thinking, quick and easy we thought. But as people were boarding the train we were realizing we were someone’s seat. We would move, and again, we were in someone else’s seat. This went on for 10 or so moves. I had anxiety and I was sweating at this point. “Please let us just depart!” I was tired of feeling like the “stupid Americans” who didn’t know what was going on. And by our 5th move, everyone was watching us. We finally found empty, unreserved seats, but the anticipation of having reserved ticket holders approaching us again and us moving to yet another seat, just about gave me a stomach ache! But we made it; right next to each other, in seats all to ourselves. “Note to self: We are selecting seats on the way back to Milan! I don’t think I can handle this again!”
An hour and 45 minutes and we arrived. It was breathtaking. The town seemed so different than Milan, so quaint and charming. The people seemed… not like city people, but like small town, country people; warm and friendly. The very first impression the Florentine people greeted us with, was two little boys; pants down around their knees, peeing in the grass. They just minded their own business as if no one was watching and they relieved themselves as if this was a normal occurrence. We laughed and thought, “Well, Welcome to Florence!” We passed the peeing peewees and walked down a cobbled stone road to find our hotel; “Katti House”. Katti House is run by three generations of Mothers and Daughters. The office where we checked into our room was actually the home of AnnaMaria (the mother) and Katti (the daughter). She walked us to our room and when I opened the door and saw the cozy Florentine home, I wanted to stay and never go back to Milan. Our room had exposed beams, intricate tile work throughout the bathroom, and a balcony opening to a small garden. I was giddy, I was in love, this was exactly what I had been picturing but hadn’t seen or felt since we’ve been in the city of Milan.
We started walking the town right away! We didn’t want to waste any time. You couldn’t help but notice the atmosphere. Maybe it was the Tuscany region but the air felt different. The streets were alive with markets… leather markets. Florence is known for its leather and its Museums… but mostly it’s shopping and leather. Your eyes couldn’t miss the beautiful architecture everywhere you looked either. This quaint town had so much to offer and it was all within walking distance. In our 3 days there we must have walked for over 30 hours…no exaggeration!
We went to the Piazza Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) first and it was magnificent. In front of the Duomo was a Baptistery where people had to get baptized before they could enter the Church. The doors of the Duomo had Biblical stories engraved in bronze. The historical and religious background to this was that the poorer people who could not read were able to look at these artistic engravings to learn about the teachings of the Bible.
Our next stop was the Piazza della Signoria where the most eye- catching statues tower. There is a copy of David (the original is at the Academia Gallery where we toured our second day), Hercules and Cacus, the Fountain of Neptune, Perseus with the Head of Medusa, and so many others. The Piazza della Signoria was the location of the Florentine Republic and it still acts as the main central point of the city.
The Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River are main attractions that must be seen when travelling to Florence. At the Ponte Vecchio you witness the only bridge that wasn’t completely destoryed and blown up in WWII when Hitler attacked the city of Florence. This bridge was also used as a passage way for Royalty staying at the Castel on the other side of the Arno River to pass through and go to the main Piazza and the Uffizi without having to be disturbed by the peasants.
The Piazzas were filled with Artists painting and selling one of a kind, unique, hand painted, Florentine ceramics. There were musicians playing their guitars, violins, and accordions, singing and enjoying the crowds. We ended our first night under the stairs sitting outside the enormous Uffizi at the Piazza della Signoria, bundled up, listening to a musician playing his guitar and singing, it was almost surreal. I didn’t want the night to end. It was so romantic.
We spent our whole second day culturing ourselves in the museums. Our first reservation was at the Uffizi Gallery. The Museum took about 3 hours to walk through and look at the paintings, some dating back as early as the 14th and 15th centuries. The Museum houses a collection of work from the birth of the Renaissance all the way to new Humanism to Medieval art work. Many of the paintings focus on Christian viewpoints showing the Crucifixion of Jesus and the “Madonna and Child”. There were also many Biblical stories depicted in the paintings and it was fun to test our Sunday school knowledge and guess what Biblical story we were looking at. There was so much we saw that there is no way to cover it all in a paragraph in a blog, but I hope you get picture and if you get the chance to go to Florence, this Museum is a museum worth touring. Or next reservation was at the Academia. The highlight of this gallery was without a doubt, Michelangelo’s original David. David is created with white Carrar Marble and towers high at 17ft. Seeing the David that conquered over Goliath was a “bucket list” cross off. It was amazing to think that all of the David’s we had seen all over Florence were just mere copies, but this was the original, the actual piece of Marble that Michelangelo claimed had spoke to him and he created.
Travelling with my husband it almost becomes a part of the itinerary to treat yourself to Gelato. In between shopping at the market; we got a Gelato, after touring the Museums; we got a Gelato, before lunch, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner, on our way to the top of the town, on our way down… WE GOT A GELATO! We ate at 6 different Gelato places in our 3 days in Florence. I had Gelato coming out of my ears!
We ate at some of the most wonderful Bistros and Restaurants. We learned quickly though to ask if there was a Coperto. A Coperto is a cover charge added to either each person eating or it can be added to the price of your food. Because there is no tipping in Italy a Coperto isn’t always a big deal, however, you do find places that claim they don’t have a Coperto but they have a sitting fee where a 2.50 euro sandwich becomes a 6.00 euro sandwich with no warning! Even at Brocky’s Gelato places if you’re not careful a 3.00 euro Gelato can turn to a 5.00 euro sitting fee. And at the rate Brock was having his chocolaty fixes we were walking and eating our Gelatos.
Our last day was a sad one. I didn’t want to leave. I begged and begged Brock, “Please Brocky, please let’s just stay here and not go back to the city. We can ask Katti if we can stay in our room and make the beds at the hotel for our fee.” But I knew my request would go unfulfilled. There was something about Florence; maybe it was the air, the Tuscany romance in the air; maybe it was the art, the architecture, the sculptures and statues, the paintings? Maybe it was all that gelato… no, probably not that. But something… something about Florence filled my heart with love. For the first time in our month of being abroad in Italy, I truly felt like I was in the Italy I had pictured and dreamt about. Or last day we hiked all the way up to the top of the city, The Piazza Michelangelo, where there is an incredible view of Florence. From the Ponte Vecchio it takes about 30 minutes to get to the top, and well…it’s all up hill. After huffing and puffing, wheezing a little bit, taking a break for water, and having burning calves, we were there. This view was beyond breathtaking. From the left you saw rolling green hills with cute Tuscany villas. Your eyes follow the skyline to see The Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River, The Castel, The Duomo, historical Cathedrals like the St. Maria Novella, the Uffizi and the Academia, The Piazza Signoria and so much more. The view of the sky line of Florence was a summary of our whole trip. I didn’t want to start making my way down, I wanted to stay up there and take in that view forever. Florence was one of those trips that I pray that when I close my eyes I won’t ever forget what I saw or the way it made me feel.
Our quaint Tuscany hotel room at the Katti House.
Brock and I in front of the Duomo. Brock in the Piazza Signoria.
The Doors of the Duomo engraved in bronze the stories of the Bible.
The Statues in the Piazza Signoria. Notice my husband being funny :]
The Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio
Our first night in Florence. We had dinner at a cute little Bistro sitting outside of the Duomo. It was the perfect little place, dinner by candle light and no coperto!We watched an artist draw with chalk the most beautiful painting on the side walk. Then we stumbled across a musician performing outside the Uffizi's in the Piazza Signoria. Brock and I ended the night overlooking the Arno River.
Brock and the Kreamers looking at our maps...trying to figure out where we were going! Brock snuck a picture of the David. I was very upset with him but very happy we have a picture. Also a picture of the Castel and another beautiful view in Florence.
Making our way up to the most amazing view in the world. Just some pictures we took as we made our hike.
Views from the top. It was amazing.
Making our way down.
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