A Florence Anniversary - September 19, Florence

It was time to explore Florence!
 

We had a late start to the day, but it ended up being for the best since we awoke to a...wait for it... hail storm.
 

Which I guess is very unusual for Florence. So we got ready with the sound of hail, which thankfully gave way to sunny skies as we began walking to our first sight of the day.
 

One of my favorite things about Florence was how walkable it is. We rarely needed to walk more than five minutes in between sights or needed to take taxis. There were also lots of pedestrians, but not so many that you felt claustrophobic.
 

First up was the Santa Croce, a church built in 1294 and the final home for Michelangelo and Rossini. There are also tombs for Dante (his is empty) and Galileo. We also enjoyed seeing works by Donatello, which I think rounded out our teenage mutant ninja turtle artists. ;) 

 

After a quick but delicious lunch outside the Santa Croce (views and amazing calzone!), we headed to Florence’s star attraction, the Duomo.
 

First, we climbed the campanile of the cathedral for views of Florence’s famed red rooftops and medieval buildings. And we decided our future home must have a red rooftop. Right, Brendan? 

The 5 minute climb to the top seemed like a cakewalk compared to the Vatican's hundreds of stairs. 

View from the Duomo's campanile.

Duomo from the Campanile. The Baptistry is the smaller red dome behind it.

Windy in the campanile!

 

Then we got in line to enter the cathedral herself. This was probably the longest line we needed to stand in for the trip, topping out around 30 minutes. It didn’t help that Rick Steves’ podcast (that we were listening to while passing the time) said the church would be big and empty and disappointing.
 

Big and less glamorous than the Catholic cathedrals in Rome, yes. Disappointing? A little for me, but Brendan reminded me that sometimes there’s beauty in simplicity.
 

Not exactly a theme of this trip, but I liked the perspective. 

 The Baptistry was next, and here the irony settled in: From the outside, the Baptistry (one of the oldest buildings in Florence) seems dwarfed by the giant Duomo. But the inside of the Baptistry, with its gold plated EVERYTHING, far outshines the empty vastness of the cathedral. 

 

We were able to enjoy several panels of the original doors, but we knew the famous east doors were nestled safely in a nearby museum. 

So next we went on to the Duomo Museum, with high hopes of seeing the Baptistry's original "Gates of Paradise", dubbed by Michelangelo and designed by Ghiberti. After exploring the museum for about an hour, appreciating the non-star attractions like good little tourists, a guard told us the Doors In Question were being restored. 

Figures. Thanks for letting us know when we forked over the 3E for our tickets, jerks. :P 

But I did enjoy seeing Michelangelo's third Pieta, which is said to contain the likeness of the artist and is one of the last sculptures completed by him. 

Next was a quick gelato stop, and then one to the Museo Galileo, otherwise known as a Brendan Choice Museum. 

Brendan was like a kid in a candy story, admiring the different telescopes and other scientific trinkets. The highlight for me? Seeing Galileo's thumb, index finger and tooth! 

Seriously. The relics were on display. Very gross, yet very cool. 

On the way to see Galileo's fingers. Seriously.

After exploring the museum, we did a little shopping in the area of the Ponte Vecchio, walked the famous bridge, and ducked into lots of little shops to admire goods like masks, clothing and artwork. We took a long walk along the Arno River, enjoying the sights and relaxing. 

Legend has it that if a couple fastens a lock to one of Florence's bridges and throws the key into the river, their love will remain eternal. (There's also a large fine for those caught throwing keys in the river, so we participated in this tradition through spirit only!)

 We stumbled onto a high-potential restaurant during our afternoon walks, and quickly made a decision to try it for our anniversary dinner after the hotel concierge also recommended it. We ended up enjoying our best meal of the trip here: 

If you're ever in Florence, you must try the Ristorante Celestino. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere amazing (with painted vaulted ceilings!), and the service was lovely. It's also nestled in a quiet square on the south side of the Arno and dates back to the 1870s. We finished a bottle of wine with dinner and walked back to the hotel, enjoying the city's lights. 

Nighttime view from our room's balcony.

Happy second anniversary, for sure. :)