Our last day in Florence, Italy

Today in Florence we started the day early with an amazing breakfast from our hotel and we are off to do our Best of Florence Walking Tour with David and the Duomo.

At breakfast, they had these little breakfast burgers, they were so cute, I had to take a picture. Naturally. 



 I told you they were cute. 💝

Our hotel is walking distance to just about everything we needed. Which is a plus because I would have not liked to drive around here. 10-minute walk to our tour meeting place, 8-minute walk to the train station. Perfetto!

Let me just say, it was already HOT and it is only 9am. I felt like this we have had this one perpetual sweat...I am surprised how hot it is (high 90's) and how hot it is going to get after we leave here in Florence (100+). Crazy! 

We set off to the museum first to visit David at the Accademia Gallery. The paintings and the sculptures are just amazing. I wish we had more time to look at all of them; however, our tour guide was set on certain items in the museum and not all things. I can already tell that this tour wasn't going to be as good. Our tour guide spoke the entire time about stuff I felt was just unnecessary. She lost my attention fast, and I kinda went off to take pictures and rejoined the group when it was necessary. Definitely not like our Colosseum tour guide, he was crazy good. 



Before our tour started.






Then we turned the corner and there he was. David by Michelangleo. Wow. You know, I have seen him in magazines and books, but when you see it in person...wow. I was just in awe. 

David is simply perfect. It's craftsmanship, attention to detail and idealized body have absolutely captivated people for hundreds of years. This is considered from the period of the renaissance, which personally speaking, is not my favorite. 

David's statue is incredibly tall. Which I didn't expect. He is 17 feet tall. Yes, 17 feet tall!! For those of you that don't know, this statue was carved out of ONE block of marble. David is representing the biblical story of David and Goliath. 

This statue was done between the years of 1501 to 1504.

Simply one of the most amazing sculptures I have ever seen.

I mean...look at him!















Incredible, right? 

We checked out some other paintings and sculptures as well. Here is what I saw:











Next stop on our tour was the Duomo. The Duomo is a Roman Catholic Church that was consecrated in the 1400s. It is a rather large church and back in the day could hold around 30,000 people. The church took over 140 years to complete and it is truly a spectacle to see. It also has the world's largest masonry dome. Santa Maria del Fiore, The Duomo, is the world's 3rd largest cathedral. It is surpassed only by St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.

She is incredible.
















Inside, it was rather dark, so my pictures do not do it justice. Our family took the opportunity to light a candle and say a prayer. 














After our quick stop at the Duomo, our tour walked around Florence and saw some sites. 










Yes, those are lip prints on the wall. And no, I did not leave mine. ;)








We also spotted Superman, in Florence of all places!!! And of course, we had to get a photo. 😄😄😄
After our tour, we headed back to the hotel and John, and I spent the whole afternoon soaking in the hot rays and swimming at the rooftop pool. It was AWESOME. 

Our night ended with dinner at the Trattoria Dall'Oste, which won several accolades for best steak restaurant for 2 years in a row. They are known for their Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Um, this steak was HUGE and freaking tasty!







After dinner we took a walk and enjoyed our last evening in Florence. 






I did enjoy Florence, but truthfully, it wasn't my favorite. If I had the chance to come back, I would want to because of the rooftop pool at Hotel Glance. Hey, I am being honest!

Next stop, Venice! Which means that this will be the last place on our Journey Through the Boot. 

Not going to think about it...at least not right now...

Buona Notte,
Claudine

























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buongiorno Amici!

Image
Good morning my friends from Sorrento, Italy! It's hard to believe that we are here. I kept on asking John, has it sunk in yet, and finally, well, it truly has. This adventure started out a bit rocky, if I was being honest. My goal was to get us to this beautiful place unscathed.  From our delayed flight in Louisville and almost missing our connecting flight in Philly - we were down to the minutes folks, and we were the last to board our flight to Italy. Personally, I have never run harder in my life, looking like a complete idiot in this crowded airport, sweat dripping down my face, with my backpack bouncing up and down - that felt like a 50-pound weighted vest along with dragging my carry-on down the Philly airport (that place was HUGE!). Huffing and puffing, we made it to our flight to Naples. Whew.  The flight itself was wonderful. It almost didn't feel like you were on a plane. Except for the economy seats after several hours of sitting felt like eternity (seriously, more...
Read more

A Journey Through the Boot

Image
My mother is from Naples, Italy and when I was young, my mother used to "drag" me to Italy with her to spend the summers there with her side of the family. (Sigh) Those memories were the very best. I remember running through my great Aunt's vineyard with the other kiddos, climbing Mt. Vesuvius (that's right, the VOLCANO!), eating the very best food, and sitting for HOURS at the table with family and friends, chatting, laughing and loving life. I was the observer to all this beauty, and I never want to forget those memories.  Something my grandpa always used to say was, "Life is beautiful Claudina..." as he sipped on his grappa after an amazing meal. We would hug and laugh and smile and I understood exactly was he was talking about.  Many years later, our family will begin our Journey Through the Boot in less than 24 hours. My husband I have always talked about going to Italy...yea, when we have our 20th wedding anniversary....or that year or the next...and w...
Read more

Let the adventures begin!

Image
Welcome to my new blog Wanderlust Diaries: Adventures of an Enthusiast . My name is Claudine. It has been a long time since I have done a blog, and I thought it would be a really good creative outlet. I enjoy writing, although, I don't think I am that good at it, however, it is something that makes me smile...so why not?  I have been watching Sex and the City (I know, I am a late bloomer) and I am hooked. I love the parts where Carrie Bradshaw is writing. It is pretty thoughtful, and I was inspired. You might be wondering what an Enthusiast is. In the Enneagram world, I am a number 7, which is an Enthusiast. People who know me, think that the Enthusiast is pretty on the mark.  According to the Enneagram Institute,  Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous. Playful, high-spirited, and practical, they can also misapply their many talents, becoming over-extended, scattered, and undisciplined. They constantly seek new and exciting experiences but can bec...
Read more