This is by far my most favorite city in italy! It’s the perfect combo of art, architecture and shopping. Best of all it the perfect size so that you can explore it by foot, it’s lots and lots of walking.
After much planning thanks to my Italian colleagues I got on the fast train to Florence without any problems. It’s about 2 ½ hr ride that took me right into the center of the city. I got to Florence at 11am Saturday and as luck had it, there was a free walking tour that started from the train station at 11! It was a great way for me to get my bearing and some background of the city. The tour ended at 12:30 and I then had to immediately make my way to the Uffizi museum where I made online reservations at 1pm. In the summer the lines to get into this famous museum could be 3-5 hours! I got in right away and spent 2 hours checking out some great renaissance masterpieces. So hard to believe these paintings dates back in the 15th century. My fav painting was Boticelli’s Birth of Venus. My hotel is so cool. I didn’t realize it but it was an old convent built in 1536! Then when church property was repossessed in the second half of the 16th century it was converted into an inn. The hotel sits on an old square so it’s very peaceful. It was great when I got into my room and opened my window to views of the red rooftops. I could see the dome of San Lorenzo cathedral church nearby.
I booked tickets to an opera (Carmen) in an old English church that night. Here in Florence anything built after the 15th century is considered modern, lol! We were literally in a church with pews and everything! They put in chairs for about 150 chairs and the 4 person opera was done right in front of the altar. The singers were professional level and the sound was incredible. Funny but since we weren’t in a real theatre there wasn’t an overhead marquee to translate the opera so in between the 4 acts there was a host who explained each scene to us. It was very different and fun. I got tix in the 2nd row so it was up close and personal with the singers.
I was walking back to my hotel was walking past the plaza del vecchio and could hear some beautiful live music. It lured me closer. I have read that in this city you can find some street performers that have professional level and this was one of those situations. The guy was playing acoustic guitar and must have had a bose sound system hooked to his guitar. His music reverberated throughout the square and it was so beautiful. There were long benches that were extensions of a monument so it was a perfect place to sit and listen. Many passersby had the same idea. I texted Gary wishing he was there because he would have enjoyed it. It was 11 at night but there were still lots of people walking around.
I guess the late work nights the week before caught up with me because I slept right through breakfast and didn’t wake up until 10:30. My train leaves Florence at 6pm so it was enough time to visit a couple more sights and do a little shopping. I made sure to fit in the Accademia museum which housed Michaelangelo’s statue of David – no intention to walked around for 2 hours, only to see the famous statue. When buying the ticket I asked if they had a map of the place so I can get right to David and she just said no. I realized the reason why when walking through the door you can see it big as life in the distance at the end of the corridor. Didn’t know what to expect but it was awesome to see it on approach. As with other people it was nice to sit and take the time to view the sculpture from all angles. It really was an incredible feat. Michaelangelo did manage to capture all the features of the human body. As the story goes, the artist had gotten permission to start work on this sculpture from an abandoned piece of marble that was laying around in the churchyard of san Lorenzo church. It took him 2 yrs to do it and finished it in 1504. I could hear the museum worker yelling out “no pictures!” every once in awhile so I quietly walked out of her view and zoomed in with my camera and took some pics! I sent Gary a picture that night and he agreed that the details looked pretty incredible. It’s a unique experience to see it up close and personal.
What can I say about the shopping?! Every other store in the whole city is either a shop selling purses or shoes! And it’s all leather! I wanted to buy everything but had to force myself to not do it. Not for the first time I wish it got colder in phx so I could wear these great boots. And the purses were so beautiful! I wanted to buy them all! I didn’t want to carry back too many things on the train I had to limit myself to a couple of leather belts and a wallet. My splurge for the weekend was a patent leather purse handcrafted in Florence. I will have to see how the shopping goes in Milan next weekend, oh boy. Wish I had more shopping time in Florence, after all, this is the birthplace of prada, ferragamo etc.
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