Second Day in Florence

Our second day in Florence was devoted to seeing the huge and famous Duomo (church) that is one of the great historical glories of Florence and the tomb of the Medici family that is across the street from the Duomo. These two buildings represent the wealth and power that resided in Florence during the Renaissance. Florence is still an important city in Italy, but during the time that these buildings were constructed (the 14th and 15th century), Florence was a very powerful city-state and showed her prestige in the beautiful Duomo that she could afford to build. The church is so huge it makes you feel tiny and insignificant. There is no way to experience the whole building from the ground level which can only be viewed in its entirety from the air.

The Duomo is super eye candy and the carvings and sculptures go on and on around the building, while the inside of the Duomo is a little more subdued, except for the floors that are done in beautiful geometric patterns in black, white and grey marble.

The Medici Tomb across the street is a study in contrast to the Duomo. It is a relatively small, six sided, two story building that is made from black and white marble which makes it stand out from all the buildings that surround it. The most outstanding feature of the Medici Tomb is the famous set of golden doors that grace the side of the building that faces the Duomo. These golden doors are huge and outstanding and a must see for any art history buff. I have never seen anything like them and they are gorgeous.

Another feature on that side of the Arno River, where the Duomo and Tomb are located, is a huge public archway that comprises one side of Piazza della Repubblica. It is a grand structure and it gives the plaza an imposing presence.

After walking around Florence for two days looking at my feet so I didn’t trip on the uneven cobblestones and watching out for all the vehicles buzzing by my shoulders, I looked up on a wall not far from our Bed & Breakfast and I saw a graffiti dog on a wall that I had photographed when I was in Florence 3 years ago. I was stunned that this same strange graffiti dog was still on the 500 year old wall where some frisky young artist had placed it. I was so charmed by this graffiti dog 3 years ago, that I did a series of images based on it. I have included a photo of the graffiti dog from Florence in this blog.

After our day of sightseeing of the great monuments of Florence, we made our way back across the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio, which is better known as the Gold Bridge because it is covered from one end to the other with jewelry shops filled with gold jewelry and precious stones. We walked on until we reached the edges of the Pitti Palace grounds and found a wonderful wine bar where we could buy really good wine by the glass and finish our afternoon sipping Tuscany’s finest wines – yum!

Staying in Florence

After the peace and quiet of Siena, arriving at the train station in Florence can be a bit of a shock to the system. I know that I started my trip in Rome which has its share of wild traffic to dodge as you walk the city, but the traffic in Florence makes you feel like you have a target on your back.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Florence a lot, but there is something scary about the way you have to be really careful walking in Florence or you will get run over. It is crazy in the core of Old Florence. There are so many motorcycles buzzing down the narrow streets that you are always in danger of being squashed by one. There are also a wild assortment of cars, bicycles and trucks (and I mean huge trucks) that crowd the tiny ancient streets going about their daily business.

Going to the Uffizi Museum was tops on my list as a must see and the location of the Bed & Breakfast that was home base while in Florence was only 3 blocks away from the museum. The Bed & Breakfast was also only a half a block from the River Arno that runs through the middle of Florence and I had to walk along the river to get to the museum. This allowed me to take many beautiful photos of the Arno, with the beautiful old buildings that make up the old center of Florence reflecting in its slow dark green water. I also got the added treat of a lighting and thunder storm with its wildly clouded sky, to take photos of the city. The rain came down so hard that anyone on the street without an umbrella had to hide in covered windows or under the over hang of a building. While waiting out one of the heavier downpours, my friend Deonne and I met a local teenage girl who jumped off her bicycle and hid in a covered window space with us. She had this wild looking silver wire ring on her finger and Deonne asked where she got it and she told us she saw it in a toilet and pulled it out. Deonne and I said, "wow, what a great story," and I have included a photo of the girl with her silver wire ring.

Going to the Uffizi was a rare treat and very much worth doing because it is the biggest collection of Renaissance Art in the world. Every building and the plaza around the Uffizi is super eye candy also. A copy of Michelangelo’s “Dave” is in the Piazza Uffizi, along with a whole bunch of other great sculptures and it is kind of nice to see these large sculptures outside rather than inside the museum because you need to see them far away as well as close up.

After the Uffizi Museum, it was off to find cappuccinos and some great food and Florence has a lot of both. My next post will be about the huge Duomo (church) that Florence is famous for that is across the street from the tomb of the Medici family.

The Hill Town of Siena

After four days in Rome seeing the museums, famous sites and shopping, we headed for the best preserved medieval town in Italy – Siena. Gasoline is very expensive in Europe, so taking the train is the logical mode of travel for the next leg of the journey. It was necessary to take two different trains to get to Siena and the first one out of Rome was one of the regular large trains that I have taken before when in Italy. The surprise came when a tiny two car train pulled up at the station in Grosseto, to take us on to Siena. It was an interesting ride along the Italian coast and up into the hill country,

When the travel books say that Siena is a well preserved medieval town, they mean it! I booked rooms in a 17th century monastery that has been converted into a very nice little hotel and though there is no elevator, the view from my room of the surrounding countryside is breathtaking.

Rome was noisy and cosmopolitan and Siena is quiet and quaintly stunning with cool, crisp air. I was giddy with delight as my friend Deonne and I walked the streets of Siena to view the architecture and look in the shops. The medieval architecture of this town seems to cling to the shape of the hills it is built on and rises 3 to 4 stories high giving the narrow, very clean streets a canyon like feel. Siena, Italy is drop dead gorgeous and a must see destination if you have the time.





Our first day of walking around turned out to be on a Sunday when a lot of shops were closed, but we managed to find a restaurant open for lunch that had really good local style food. The owner was a cute old man who took a liking to us and started bringing us all kinds of treats and wine to sample before we ordered. Siena is known for its fine local cuisine and I have to agree that it is very delicious.

One of the photos I have included with is post is of a street shrine to the Virgin Mary, which is a common sight in Italian towns and cities that I find very charming. I have also included a photo of me with the owner of the restaurant that was so wonderful. I could hardly understand a word of his Italian, but it didn’t seem to matter because he was really fun.




Tomorrow we are in search of the art treasures and shopping that Siena has to offer and of course the food – yummy stuff.

Trip to the Vatican and its Museum

All I can say about going to the Vatican and its amazing museum is – WOW!!! The museum and Duomo (church) are so huge, that you feel really small when you are there.
The coolest thing about the Vatican Museum besides the art in it is the fact that they let you take photos in the museum and the church. I haven’t been to a museum in years that will let you take photos and I was pumped. You are not allowed to take any images of the Sistine Chapel, but I could live with that.



The Borghese Museum was more painting orientated, with a few sculptures here and there that are very famous and you couldn’t take photos. The Vatican Museum was full of sculptures and object d'art and the church is so huge, you just can’t imagine the scale of it until you are in it. I saw about a half dozen other churches around Rome and the Vatican is above and beyond.

It has been raining most of my stay here in Rome, but that kept the air fresh and clean. The real challenge on rainy days is maneuvering around all the umbrellas and not getting hit in the eye.

Check out the slide show, it is packed with interesting stuff.

Art Adventures in Italy

I like a good dose of artistic stimulation every once and a while, so I find myself in Italy today. What a treat it is to start my Italian museum viewing in Rome, a city with thousands of years of art spread around the city.

My long time friend Deonne (of Galaxy Glass on eBay) and I have been making the rounds to the most important museums that Rome has to offer. We have also been sampling the gastronomic delicacies of the Roman food industry – very yummy.

Getting to Rome was not easy; traveling long distances is just hard on the body. The pay off has been the opportunity to get up close and personal with many well known works of art. Rome is brimming with ancient sculpture of all kinds and they are everywhere.

I got started on this art experience with a visit to the Borghese Museum, which is located in the Borghese Ville and estate grounds that are very park-like. The Borghese has very interesting works of art situated in huge, high ceiling, completely decorated rooms that are painted everywhere. It might sound like decorative overkill, but the Romans manage to carry it off.

You must walk the paths that crisscross the Borghese Estate to get the full experience that the Borghese has to offer. There are marble busts of every famous Italian, spread around sections on the estate and an occasional gigantic bronze here and there.

When you get to the far side of the Borghese area that is over by where the Tiber River cuts its way through Rome, there is a hillside with a great panoramic view of Vatican City. If you worm your way down that hill, you come to the great oval of the Piazza del Popolo. There are photo opportunities everywhere, in a 360 degree circle when you stand at the base of the obelisk that rises from the center of this beautiful piazza.

We have been staying at a charming little hotel called the Hotel Locarno that is just around the corner and down the street from Piazza del Popolo. This has turned out to be a great area to stay in and the people there have been very sweet and helpful.

My next posting will be about the amazing art at the Vatican, which was way more than I expected and very much worth the trip.