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.