Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A Little Bit of Tuscany - Day 1

We just returned from Firenze yesterday. To say this trip was much needed would be an understatement! I didn't realize how much my body, brain, mental stamina needed it until we were in the van to return. I kept trying to prolong the trip and then had tears in my eyes when I typed our address in the phone GPS. I wish I could live on vacation. Alas, I am not Rick Steves, nor am I even close. :(

We loved, loved, loved Florence! It was so full of art, amazing architecture, beautiful places of worship, yummy food and English-speaking people! It was the first time, in a long time, that we were spoken to in English more than Italian. Actually, I don't think we heard much Italian the entire weekend. In some respects, it was very nice to hear your native tongue spoken all over the place. On the other hand, we are supposed to be learning Italian! Firenze is the birthplace of the Italian language. We even saw the stone that Dante Alighieri would sit on and write/come up with the Italian language! Yet, we barely heard Italian the entire weekend. It was strange.

So, what do some crazy kids from Kentucky do in Florence, Italy?!?! Eat! See the David! Climb lots of stairs! Eat some gelato! Visit churches galore! See everything! Here is what these crazy kids did...on day 1. I started out thinking I'd type up our entire weekend in one post. That would be too long and too many pics. So, here is day 1.

First, we parked the van. Exciting, right?!?! Apparently, parking is a novelty in Florence. We paid a pretty penny to park the van for 3 nights. After the arrangements were made for pickup, we went on search for our hostel. We picked Locanda Daniel for this trip. It was perfect for our needs! It had a kitchenette, 5 beds, and a bathroom. What more could we need when we'd be exploring all day, every day? I forgot to mention the view. It was spectacular. I can't even describe it. Here are a few pictures, but they can't do it justice.

 The kids on the balcony
 The view from our balcony

 This pic cracked me up...they still haven't figured out the tall people go to the back!

 Zoomed in a little

 How beautiful can one girl be?

 What a cutie pie!

 We were discussing all the cats running around on the roofs

Night view

After getting settled, we headed out. Our first stop were the Medici Chapels. Wow! This was not the place to start when you will be seeing a gazillion churches for the weekend. This was our favorite of the chapels.

 Marble was everywhere! So were Albers' kids.

 Part of the ceiling...Adam and Eve, Jesus and all that jazz.

 Ceiling, again

They were doing some work there, as can be seen by the scaffolding.

Notes: Every chapel/museum/church had some sort of relic of some saints. There were several relics at the Medici Chapel. Generally, the relics are some bones. A few were mementos from said saint. I might still be having nightmares about seeing several of John the Baptist's fingers.

After the Medici Chapel, we headed to the Piazza del Duomo. It was overwhelming to see these amazing facades on the buildings. We saw the Baptistry first and were impressed. Then, we saw the Cathedral and the Baptistry sort of paled in comparison. Anyway, back to our excursion...here are a few pics from inside and outside of both buildings.

 I think this is a door outside of the Baptistry...but not a bronze door

 My peeps in front of the Cathedral with the Baptistry to the side

 Front facade of the Cathedral (Baptistry is building on right, Campanile is tower next to Cathedral and Duomo can barely be seen on the left in the background)

Duomo

 Painting on Duomo ceiling

 Creepy photobomber...it might look like a shot of the couple in the middle, but no. We are to the left.

 Baptistry ceiling

 Duomo Ceiling - sorry, we went back and forth. ;P
 The ceiling of one of the arches - probably the Baptistry?!?!

 J Jr. in front of the altar at the Baptistry

Baptistry doors - entrance for visitors

Same door taken with my cell phone - I think I got a few more panels

We then headed back to the Cathedral to walk through the museum that was in the basement. There was once another church at that site and this museum commemorated this church and its foundations. There were also several tombs there and an altar. You can see these in the pictures.

 Hmm, a model of the old church and the "new" Cathedral, maybe?

 Grumpy Boo, KK and Little J with the same model

 Creepy boys having fun with tombs

 Old altar

 Beautiful cross

Parts of the old church that have been unearthed

After all this fun, we needed some sustenance. We went to this cool, local spot for cheap pizza. Well, we thought it would be cheap pizza. Pizza was cheap, paying for the opportunity to sit wasn't quite as cheap. Take note, sitting at a table is never free in Italy! Never! You also never tip in Italy, so there's that. Of course, we'd never tip $12 on a $30 meal in America, so I think the Italians are making out on the deal. ;)

Sitting in the basement eating our pizza

We loved the pizzas here and the atmosphere was fun. I think the kids would have eaten here daily, had we allowed that.

After lunch, we decided to climb Giotto's Campanile. Oh boy, am I out of shape. It was 414 steps up to the viewing area. I was pretty sure I was going to die. I didn't! I am going to go ahead and note here...we did the Campanile the first day (414 steps), the Duomo Tower the second day (463 steps) and the Palazzo Vecchio Tower the third day (223 steps...once you climb several stories within the palace to get to the tower steps). I did my year's worth of stairs in one weekend. BUT, the view was worth it for every.single.one. Here are a few shots from the Campanile.

Looking up at the outside of the Campanile

 A shot of the Duomo from my cell phone at the top of the Campanile...not too shabby. ;)

The kids with one of the old bells

 A shot of the top of the tower


 KK on one of the platforms

My peeps, again. It was sunny that day. Can you tell?

 Me with my crazies.

 Wave to the people on the Duomo Overlook

 Shot of Firenze...I think the white building is the Santa Croce.

 A shot of the Palazzo Vecchio Tower

 A shot of the Duomo and surrounding area

 I think this is a shot aimed toward the River


A shot taken aiming down toward the Piazza

After this climb, we headed toward the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio. I didn't understand the appeal of the Ponte Vecchio. It is a bridge with shops on it...but every single shop is a jewelry store. By this time, we were hungry, hot and a little cranky. We found a tiny market, bought some fruit and water, and had a little snack on some steps. The kids and I were ready to head back to the hostel for a little break before dinner. Joe was not. Joe lost that battle.

After our little break, we headed out to find dinner. Within a couple minute walk from our hostel was a quaint little pizzeria. We ate outside (and subsequently froze our tooshies off until Joe ran back and got some jackets for us...my knight in shining armor!) and had a fun time. KK was starting to get a migraine, so she didn't quite enjoy the ambiance and outdoor seating like the rest of us. I guess traveling for 4+ hours, walking around all day, climbing a huge tower and getting little water was a bad combination for her. The remaining days we made sure to always have acqua on hand! I know that migraines are no fun. I hate when my girl gets one. Here are a couple shots from dinner. You'll  note KK with her head on the table. My poor girl!

 Pizza, pizza and more pizza!

This guy is so animated! This girl, not so much.

That was the end of day 1. We really, really, really enjoyed Florence and saw as much as possible while there. Buona sera, for now!

5 comments:

  1. Very cool! Love all the pictures and glad you enjoyed your trip. I'm sure you'll have many more adventures like that!! :) Miss you guys!

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    1. Hey Steph! I think about you every time I take and post a picture! I guess instagram might have been easier than this blog. :P It is fun writing it, tho. It keeps these things fresh in my mind. Plus, I can look back and "remember" what we did in April of 2016. We miss you so much! Hopefully, see you soon.
      p.s. These pics also remind me of Marie! She told me how they studied the Renaissance artists and to go see the Baptistry doors. I think I have some more pics to post in the next day or so for her.

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  2. Very cool! Love all the pictures and glad you enjoyed your trip. I'm sure you'll have many more adventures like that!! :) Miss you guys!

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  3. Very exciting! Pictures are great, but love seeming the grands in pictures. Nana

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    1. We try to get them in many of them...they just don't always comply! LOL. Some shots, they'd have to climb the netting around the towers to make it in the shot. hahaha. Most of the time, I think they wish the camera would "accidentally" meet its demise.

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