Love, Florence (January 2015)

Florence. The birthplace of Renaissance. From the start of our planning sessions, as an art lover, I have always wanted Krz to visit this astounding city.


Getting Ready

Since Florence is farther north than Rome, and is located in a valley, the temperature here is a bit colder. We prepared for the colder weather by wearing our thicker down jacket on our way to Florence. We also prepared our umbrellas as it was supposed to rain based on the weather forecast.


Transportation

Taking the train to Florence from Rome was more practical and economical for us. Plus, it was a more scenic ride than plane. We acquired tickets online via Trenitalia for the the train from Rome's Termini Station to Santa Maria Novella station in Florence. When purchasing you would need to indicate the Italian name of the city or the station you are coming from and going to, so a little research will do the trick. The train we rode was a Frecciarossa - a high speed train servicing Rome and Florence. The ticket cost us 38 euros each, a bit cheaper than buying onsite (42 euros).

Picture with Frecciarossa

In Florence, automobiles are not allowed within the historic center to preserve all of the structures (Florence' historic center is a UNESCO Heritage site). There is really no need for any public transportation if you are planning to visit the city center as everything is of walking distance from one another. Florence was by far the most pedestrian friendly city I visited.

First selfie in Florence

Accommodations

For our accommodations, I tried looking at one of the popular hostels in Florence. A little bit of research here and there, reading reviews from TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet led me to book our overnight stay at Hostel Archi Rossi. It was quite near the train station so we had no trouble finding it. We were surprised though when upon checking in, the person in the front desk told us that our reservation was for a different hotel - Hotel Cia Mara. Apparently, Hotel Cia Mara was a sister hotel of Archi Rossi and we were automatically bumped into this elegant hotel. We were offered a room at the top floor with a great view of Florence's roof tops.


Attractions Visited

Florence is a museum in itself. We didn't bother to buy tickets for the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria dell'Academia where Michelangelo's David is housed since we just wanted to walk around and admire Florentine architecture.

There were a lot of free things to do in Florence - churches, open air galleries and piazzas. The dome of Il Duomo, Florence's Cathedral, is impressive and dominates the Florence skyline. There is so much art in the structure, our eyes grew tired just by looking at it.

Il Duomo

In front of the cathedral was the Campanile, built by Giotto. It was an artwork in itself, featuring Gothic style architecture in Florence.

Giotto's Campanile

The third centerpiece in the piazza is the Baptistry. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the grandeur of the building as it was currently being restored and was covered by scaffolding at the time of our visit. We were, however, able to take the picture of the famous door of the Baptistry. The door was part of a competition at the time which was participated by Donatello, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. The winner of the competition, Ghiberti, depicted the life of Christ in the door as well as other bible scenes.

Ghiberti's Bronze Door of the Baptistry

Before heading to the other attractions, we gathered all our courage and bought Florence's famous gelato. Amidst the cold weather, we did not think twice to eat this treat to complete our Florentine experience. Yes, it was cold. Yes, our hands were freezing, but it was all worth it. Krz had the Vanilla flavor (her favorite) and I tried the Pistachio flavor. We were not disappointed, by far the best gelato I had ever tasted.

Gelato in Florence

By the time we arrived at Chiesa Orsanmichele, our whole body was freezing from eating the gelato. We gladly went inside the church, sat down and enjoyed the warmth it has to offer. Once we stopped shivering, we were at awe of the Gothic feel of the church. Though the church is not really a main tourist attraction, it was well worth the visit to see the beautiful altar inside. Also, it was well worth the visit to see the 14 statues surrounding the church - these statues are just replicas of the original ones found inside the museum of Orsanmichele.

By now it was already mid afternoon and we were on our way to Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of Florence. It is located at Piazza della Signoria, which was a great place for people watching. A replica of Michelangelo's David is found outside Palazzo Vecchio together with other statues in the open air gallery. The statues were really breathtaking. The sculptures amazingly captured human emotions, thanks to the delicate hands of the sculptors.

A replica of Michelangelo's David

Menelaus and Patroclus

After our fill of people watching, we made it a point to go to the most popular bridge of Florence - Ponte Vecchio - during sunset. It felt as if we were walking on the bridge during the Renaissance. The bridge was still full of people selling jewelries. The history of the bridge dates back to the 13th century where all kinds of items were being sold - fish, meat, and leather. This was later on decreed by the King that only jewels be sold in the bridge to reduce the stench and waste from the shops (History 101, thanks to Rick Steves!).

Ponte Vecchio

Selfie at the bridge

Sunset from Ponte Vecchio

Even though we only stayed for 1 night in Florence, I really loved the feel of the city, it was laid back and relaxing. It was as if I loved the city more than Krz loved it. I made a promise to myself and Krz that we would explore more of Florence in the future.