Honeymoon Part 2 - Florence

Sorry for the delay…Now where was I?

A two-hour train ride south brought us to Florence on Friday. We stayed though Monday, which meant a jam-packed visit. After the relaxed pace of Venice, Florence was a bit overwhelming. Tiny cars crowded the narrow streets and the city was still buzzing with tourists despite it being considered the “low” season.

Our hotel, Marignolle, was a cozy little estate located just outside of the city center in one of the surrounding hills. A gorgeous view of the hills and valleys greeted us, but narrow winding roads meant that we had to take a taxi to go anywhere.

We headed into the city on Friday afternoon to get our bearings and plan our Saturday attack. Ponte Vecchio or “Old Bridge” was our first stop. The stone bridge, dating back to Roman times, was once home to many different merchants but is now solely occupied by jewelers.

After a busy day of travel and walking we decided to head back towards our hotel and check out a pizza place that our cab driver had recommended, Pipistrello, which means The Bat, but with our cab drivers thick accent we thought we were heading to a place called The Butt. Instead of hopping in a cab we decided to try and walk to the restaurant, what mistake. Let’s just say it was a bit further than we had remembered, and when we arrived at 6:30pm we are told they didn’t open until 7:30pm. How could we forget that we were on Europe time? So an hour of drinks at a local pub later, we finally did have some amazing pizza

The next day we set out to conquer The Duomo, see the statue of David and view The Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery. Our full day began with a two hour wait in line outside of the Uffizi...less

on learned, buy tickets online in advance. The gallery was filled with room after room of beautiful paintings.

Next was the climb to the top of the dome at Santa Maria del Fiore, or The Duomo. Modern day elevators or escalators where nowhere in sight to help with the over 450 step climb. Narrow spiraling stairs lead us higher and higher with tiny windows letting in a few rays of light until we reached the first ring around the inside of the dome. The ceiling mural of heaven and hell was even more fascinating up close, but the height was a bit daunting

The trek continued to narrow until we reached the top where amazing views of the city greeted us. The slight overcast couldn't mask the beauty of the old city and the surrounding rolling hills.

Next we set out to meet David. You can't go to Florence without taking in Michelangelo's iconic work. It was worth our brief visit to the Academia and it's hard to believe that a giant slab of marble can be transformed into such a detailed piece.

Sunday greeted was with rain that stuck around all day long, but showers couldn't keep us from exploring. We walked around the beautiful Boboli Gardens, grabbed a wonderful lunch and finally took in the city from Piazza de Michelangelo.

And here's Adam with a great wrap-up of the city from Piazza de Michelangelo.

I don’t feel the need to return to Florence as we’ve checked the main points off of our list, but the Tuscan Hills are still calling my name to relax and spend time at the local wineries.

More videos and pictures are posted here.