Day 6 - Florence

We departed Uzzano early in the morning and got back to Florence around 10. We said our goodbyes to Myra as she had a plane to catch to Croatia early afternoon. After purchasing our tickets back to Rome we checked in our backpacks again and took to the city. We would be returning to Rome at 4:00 so we had about 6 hours in Florence which actually was the perfect amount of time.

We were both a little hungry, so before we started the day, we stopped at a shop to get a couple sandwhiches (yes at 10:00am) while Michael ordered, I took pictures of the gelato.

Yum

Double Yum

The first thing we wanted to do was cross the Arno River and head up the hill to Michaelangelo's Piazza that is said to offer spectacular views over Florence along with a lovely walk up the mountain. It didn't disappointed. The hike up was quite tiring, but we managed. There were lots of steps and steep hills, but it was the cutest most pleasant little pathway. The views from the top were incredible. We saw about 10 Asian Brides and their bridal parties taking pictures. The oddest thing about it was that it was a Monday morning. Anyhow, congrats to them! We sat for a while and enjoyed the view and walked around the old city walls up more hills till we got to an old fort and more views. I actually don't know how it happened, but I didn't take a single picture of the old walls, the old fort or the view from there. But it was lovely.

Walking up the hill

View over Florence

Walking back down the steps

You can see in the pictures of the view a big dome. This is The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or as it is more commonly known, "The Duomo". I couldn't get a good picture of it up close from the outside because it was too huge to fit in my camera frame, but I didn't try real hard either. We wanted to go inside and it was beautiful. It doesn't hold a candle to the wind against St. Peters Cathedral in Rome, but I don't think anything could.

Duomo

Inside the Duomo

Before going to Rome we had already decided we wanted to Light a candle at St. Peters Cathedral in honor of Michaels Aunt Corlis who passed away last spring from breast cancer. She and her second son, Kyle, traveled to Rome and Croatia a couple years before she passed away. On our first visit to Rome there were candles where you could do this, but there were none this time. So we had to pass, but decided to light a candle for her here, in the Duomo in Florence.

In memory of Corlis Pate.
You are missed every day.

By now, we were getting hungry and since it was such a beautiful day, we opted for a cafe overlooking the Uffizi Gallery and a wonderful bustling square. I had delicious lasagna and Michael had...hmm I forgot! Mine was so tasty I didn't really pay attention to Michaels! I do remember he enjoyed it though.

My view from Lunch.
I caught the lady in the background about put food in her mouth.
I'm sure she wouldn't approve of this picture.

My side view from the cafe

Me and the sculpture of the Rock Hard Abs man.
There was a replica of "The David" next to this fountain, but I didn't get a picture.
I was more drawn to this guy, he seemed more "Manly"
But since the David is modeled after a young King David, that only makes sense.

Many would probably think it was sac religious to be in Florence and not visit one of the great art galleries, but we didn't. Neither of us had an overwhelming urge to hop inside Academia to see the "real" David. I'm sure it is amazing, but perhaps next time we find ourselves in Florence we will. Finally, it was time for some wondering around with no plans before we headed back to Rome.

Street Scene.

In the end, I really enjoyed Florence. It was a nice change of pace from busy, big and crazy Rome. I know a person could spend months in Florence, or just a couple days. There is so much to do and see, but it is a small town. I had never really given Florence much thought besides what my friends that have been there have said. They always loved it. I never had the dream of going to Florence, but I am certainly glad the opportunity presented itself. I hope we make it back there eventually. It was a cool and very pretty place.

Now, back to Rome. We caught our train and both slept the whole way. When we got back we realized we had no idea how to get back to Myra's place and we didn't bring a map of Rome with us. When we came to the main station we came by bus and didn't pay attention to where we were. We decided to take a gamble, pick a direction, start walking and see if we could figure it out. I suppose all our insane walking paid off that day, because within 5 minutes of walking we knew exactly where we were and how to get to Myra's house. Lucky us! For dinner we made the left over pasta we had bought a few days ago, relaxed and talked about what to do our final day in Rome.