Florence

Saturday 6/20/09
Today was a fantastic day. We started the morning feeling rested and refreshed after getting more then the usual amount of sleep. We had a lovely, leisurely breakfast at the hotel, and then took off towards the Dome. We arrived at San Maria del Fiori reasonably early, and we took time to look at the doors of the baptistery before going into the church. The church is amazingly large, and has beautiful fresco’s painted on the inside of the dome. We also were able to climb up to the cupola of the dome, 463 stairs is a long way to go, but it was absolutely worth it for the stunning view. We spent some time at the top of the dome looking out at the city, and enjoying the wonderful breeze that was cooling us off. After the dome, we walked towards San Lorenzo. We stopped for lunch at a little outdoor café where we could watch people going into San Lorenzo Market, which is famous for it’s leather sales. After lunch we explored the market ourselves, finding many nice things, including a new belt and wallet for Morgan. We also explored San Lorenzo church. We then journeyed back to our hotel for a little respite from the heat, and a quick nap to refresh. We decided that part of the reason we were feeling burnt out yesterday is that we’ve been going non stop wanting to see everything. We therefore decided that we will both be happier taking a little break in the middle of the day, to recharge batteries so we can enjoy the evening as well. After our break we walked to San Maria Novella, we weren’t able to go in, because it was closed for a service. We then walked down to the river, and along it, viewing many wonderful bridges including Ponto Vecchio. We walked across Ponto Vecchio and then back towards Plazza della Signoria. We stopped at a little shop for a slice of pizza and a gelato. The gelato was probably the best we’ve had in italy, it was coconut, and it was to die for! We took our gelato with us to Plazza della Signoria. The Plazza was the original resting place of the David by Michelangelo and is now home to a replica of the David, as well as many other famous statues all seated in front of the city hall. From there we journeyed back towards the hotel via the Dome. As we approached the Dome we noticed parade barriers that had been put up all around the Dome, it seems that the Firenze Marathon was being run tonight. Today has been full of wonderful surprises, and we are both enjoying ourselves immensely. Tomorrow we see the Uffizi in the morning, hopefully its not too crowded, but I’m guessing we’re going to be waiting in line for a while.