Florence

Florence is a very old city that has a modern attitude & bustle. The streets are narrow and paved with big stone blocks upon which hurry people, bicycles, cars & scooters, all at once. There are sidewalks, (in most places,) but they are often only 3 feet wide and are lined with buildings that are roughly 75 feet tall with absolutely no setbacks. Unlike Milan, the core of Florence ecscaped the ravages of WWII, resulting in the majority of the buildings being incredibly old, many of which were constructed out of large stone blocks.

Once we arrived in the late afternoon, we located the hostel, checked in & dropped our bags, then ran back out to visit the Piazza del Duomo & climb the top of Giotto's Campanile, which is right next to the cathedral and clad in the same striped marble pattern. The view was incredible from 278 feet up! Soon after, we ate some dinner at a little place called Osteria Pepo, where we were introduced to Ribolita, a Tuscan vegetable and bread soup that is so comforting and delicious.

After fueling up, we walked to Palazzo Vecchio and toured the Medici Palace. The palace is currently mostly empty, aside from a few select Roman statues, a table or two, and one very large globe. The ceilings, though, were either covered in stunning paintings or carved & gilded, often both. Outside the palace doors are many large, marble Roman statues that are free to the public to view. We lingered, admiring the beautiful and dramatic mythological figures while the songs of street musicians filled the square and people ate gelato on the stone steps.

The majority of the next day was spent at the Uffizi, which is a huge art museum that has been housing master works of art since 1581. In it we viewed pieces of art that I (Kristen) have read much about in books. We got to view works by Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Titian and many, many others from just inches away. These works were never, ever meant to be in books, folks. If you are interested in art, you must visit this place! One piece by Michelangelo, Doni Tondo, a colorful painting where the fabrics and skin of the people within seemed to radiate light, filled me with emotion and almost brought me to tears.

Then we got gelato and went to bed.

Now we are in Levanto, the gateway to Cinque Terre, which is a series of 5 little towns that dot the Mediterranean coast. Somehow, we managed to view the Giro d'Italia, Italy's version of Tour d'France, not once, but twice!

We are here for three nights, so I think we are going to slow it down a bit. I think this place is all about the hiking trails & food (of course).