The long-awaited visit to Florence is now here. We do not have a tour, but instead have opted to explore Florence on our own. We all pay for a transfer from the ship port to Florence which amounts to a 90 minute bus ride. Our guide on the bus alerts us to the countryside, the industry and the favorite spots in Florence. They say that Florence is a walking city and THAT it is!!! Jerry figures that we will have walked at least 3 miles. We have a list of "must sees" and off we go. It is a Monday and the two largest museums are closed as are many others. That is both good and bad news as we don't see the real DAVID, but we narrow down all the many choices and just go for those places that are open on Monday and there are still plenty.
Our self-guided tour begins at Santa Croce piazza and church ( tomb of Michelangelo)
then moves on to Piazza Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio where we see the replica of the famous David sculpture and a host of others. 
Moving on from there we head to the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio, the only one to survive the bombings of WWII. 
The shops that line both sides are mostly high end jewelry and we walk fast!!! We stop for a cup of coffee and find it quite tasty. Jerry tried a local donut that wasn't a winner, though. After thoroughly checking out the bridge, we head back across the river to the center of Florence, stopping at the Church of Santa Trinita. 
Actually what we are looking for is the Sossetti Chapel which has many Renaissance paintings. We find the church, but the chapel is closed. We end up strolling past the offices and studio of Salvatore Ferragamo. 
Since we don't have an appointment, we decide not to try an entry.( HA) On our way toward lunch, we stop at the Palazzo Davanzati Museum. 
This is a restored example of the stylistic shift in city architecture from the medieval tower-house to the Renaissance palace. The original was built in the middle of the 14th century. The four floors and the open loggia on top provide excellent examples of life in the middle 1300s. They even had an indoor water supply and toilets! We could not imagine the number of servants that it would have taken to make the family comfortable. No photos were allowed inside the house.
We are but a few steps away from the Piazza della Republica 
where our bus guide has suggested a rooftop lunch experience, accessible through this department store. We are delighted to sit down at the roof top terrace restaurant, and are but feet away from the Duomo dome. Our server has to interpret the menu that is all in Italian.. We finish lunch and hurry on toward the Duomo. 
Jerry says "no more churches" but does agree to go in with us and admits that this one is spectacular. The wait to enter is short and the place is so big that crowds are not a problem. We love being on our own for our tour through Florence--not hampered by being herded like cattle and taking the opportunity to stop where we want for the amount of time we want. Joyce got carried away with photos of the floor mosaics. 
The guys opt not to climb the 400+ stairs to the top of the dome or the clock tower either, even though it is a few steps shorter. ( This was never an option for the girls!!)
Jerry and Lydia decide to head back to the meeting place near Santa Croce and Joyce and Bob look for a gelato stop. 
We find the Grom recommended both by our bus guide as well as Rick Steves. We are grateful for the recommendation as there are many, many possibilities for gelato in Florence. We were not disappointed. Bob had chocolate and Joyce had tiramisu. 
Our day in Florence ends with a trip on our bus up to the Michelangelo Piazza and a spectacular view of the old Florence down below. Finally, another 90 minute bus ride back to the port where we barely have enough energy to make it to collapse in our cabins. We are so pleased that we pursued Florence on our own with fewer crowds and less feeling of being bored with a chatty guide.
No comments:
Post a Comment