Another (quick) train ride and we were here.
Kids are starting to get tired of looking at "old things". Too bad they've still got Rome coming.
We've had a great time seeing the sights and doing loads more shopping, though. Alot of the same high-end stores as Milan, but more street markets filled with glass jewellery, wool and silk scarves and stationery. And leather - jackets, shoes, belts, bags, hair clips, bookmarks, keyrings, book covers, bowls, trays - you name it, and in every colour imaginable. This place is definitely a tourist town.
We're staying in a 12th century (!!) first-floor apartment right in the heart of Florence, which is beautiful but comes complete with several flights of stairs up from the street and a strange, slightly-damp smell that hits you as soon as you open the front door. At least the stone walls mean the neighbours can't hear us. Kids were please to learn our next apartment in Rome with be much "newer" (18th Century) and has a lift.
Kids are starting to get tired of looking at "old things". Too bad they've still got Rome coming.
We've had a great time seeing the sights and doing loads more shopping, though. Alot of the same high-end stores as Milan, but more street markets filled with glass jewellery, wool and silk scarves and stationery. And leather - jackets, shoes, belts, bags, hair clips, bookmarks, keyrings, book covers, bowls, trays - you name it, and in every colour imaginable. This place is definitely a tourist town.
We're staying in a 12th century (!!) first-floor apartment right in the heart of Florence, which is beautiful but comes complete with several flights of stairs up from the street and a strange, slightly-damp smell that hits you as soon as you open the front door. At least the stone walls mean the neighbours can't hear us. Kids were please to learn our next apartment in Rome with be much "newer" (18th Century) and has a lift.
Everything is within a 10 min walk. The two main piazzas (della Republica and della Signoria) are literally 2mins away, Dante Alighieri's house is right around the corner and both the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio are only a couple of blocks further in either direction.
Ponte Vecchio
Our tour of the city included entry to the museum where Michelangelos's statue of David is kept. But strictly no photos of the real thing, so here are a couple of pictures of the copies they've left out in public squares:
David in the Piazza della Signoria
David in the Piazzale Michelangelo
We also made sure we climbed the 463 stairs to the top of the cupola of Florence's Duomo, which sounded incredibly daunting from the bottom but wasn't really.
Red-brick dome towards the centre is what we climbed
At the bottom
View of incredible ceiling after first round of stairs
Still climbing...
Views from the top
On the way down
Except for the stifling heat, we've had a great time here. Off to Rome tomorrow. Fingers crossed we have better internet access and I don't have to go hunting for a cafe to post from again.
Red-brick dome towards the centre is what we climbed
At the bottom
View of incredible ceiling after first round of stairs
Still climbing...
Views from the top
On the way down
Except for the stifling heat, we've had a great time here. Off to Rome tomorrow. Fingers crossed we have better internet access and I don't have to go hunting for a cafe to post from again.
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