adventures, lifestyle, travel

Florence, Italy

I’m a little embarrassed at how long it’s taken me to get these pictures out, so I’m just going to chalk it up to the busy holiday season and leave it at that. So here we are at the heart of Florence! At this point in the trip, Florence was my favorite city we visited in Italy. It was a nice change from the vastness of Milan and where it resembled many of the other cities (Padova, Trieste) it possessed a unique heart and life of it’s own. I guess if I had to compare it to a city in California it would be the San Francisco of Northern Italy. We walked everywhere which is one of my favorite modes of transportation while traveling, and Florence is fairly easy to navigate. Our days there were replete with shopping, Nutella crepes, gelato, Renaissance art, and friendly encounters. We actually met more foreigners and tourists than we did Italians. We even came across another group of Americans from San Francisco, which sparked some excitement in me – like a “Hey! We’re from California and you’re from California and we are both in Italy!” kind of moment. In any case, Florence was a good time and damn beautiful too. Check out some of the images I got from my time there.

One of the main squares in Florence.

Half way through the trip I started taking photos of people who were using their iPads to take pictures. It was so common! It was mostly older people though who I suspect could see the larger screen better.

Half way through the trip I started taking photos of people who were using their iPads to take pictures because I just thought it was kind of funny. It was so common! It was mostly older people though who I suspect could see the larger screen better.

Brutal

Did I mention that the light and sky was always beautiful there?

Piazza Del Duomo or the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore, to give it it’s full name, is huge built between 1296 and 1436. The exterior is all marble which came from different regions of Tuscany.

The dome of the Duomo is one of the iconic images of Florence and the Fresco on the inside is one of the only ornate things inside the Duomo. Despite it’s grand exterior the inside is rather austere. Most of the finer pieces of artwork have been moved to the Museo Dell’Opera del Duomo, which we also visited.