23 October 2009 - Florence in the Rain

We woke early to a very wet day after quite a good sleep in our gorgeous B&B and enjoyed a good breakfast before heading off to Camucia - a small town about 3 kilometres away where the train station was located. It took us a while to work out where to park but we asked an American who lived there and he explained the ticket system. We found a carpark close to the station and it only cost us €4 for the day - a real bargain! The train was arriving just as we entered the station, which was great, and we quickly found a seat to enjoy the "damp" views of Tuscany - not exactly what I had expected when planning our trip over the last several months! The train was very fast which meant the trip was only about an hour and a half to Florence, with several stops through towns I'd seen dotted on the map.

Again we spotted several castles perched high on the top of the hills of Tuscany. Travelling in Australia will never be quite the same again - always looking for castles, old stone farmhouses and history around every bend!

Apartment houses on the outskirt so Florence

We arrived in Florence at around 10.00 a.m. and boarded a Hop-On Hop-Off open topped bus for a scenic tour of Florence - it was a bit hard to see all the sights due to very heavy rain and made good photo opportunities a hunting exercise! It was still great to visit this famous town and I'd been intrigued by it since seeing "While You Were Sleeping" and Lucy said it was the town she most wanted to visit. Obviously she knew something that I didn't and I wanted to find out what it was...

All the streets of Florence are cobblestones - I just love them!

Scenes from the bus as we travelled around a very wet Florence - including elegant apartment buildings, ancient towers, pretty stone shopfronts, the Palazzo Pitti and crossing the Arno River

And you won't find anywhere in Italy that doesn't have the obligatory scooters "scooting" down the narrow roads!

As well as medieval etchings on ancient walls of buildings

Steve 'hooked up' to our commentary on the Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing tour We laughed when we realised that Florence drivers were the same as those in Rome - we still can't work out how they get in and out when there are only a few inches between the cars both ends!

Crossing the Arno River in Florence

We passed so many beautiful buildings and even though it was raining very heavily I enjoyed the sights

We wound our way up the hills to Piazza Michelangelo - a famous lookout overlooking the city of Florence with spectacular views to all the major tourist sites.

Scenes from Piazza Michelangelo, including The Duomo, The River Arno, The Ponte Vecchio and the rooftops of Florence

Bronze copy of Michelangelo's famous "Statue of David" at Piazza Michelangelo

Panorama of the Ponte Vecchio, Arno River, The Duomo and the Rooftops of Florence taken from Piazza Michelangelo

Elegant Restaurant at Piazza Michelangelo - overlooking Florence

The hills surrounding Florence

The skyline of Florence

A Japanese Wedding on top of Piazza Michelangelo on a cold, wet autumn day - brrr!

Large church with apartment buildings in the foreground in Florence

The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, Florence

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or "The Duomo"

Palazzo Vecchio or Town Hall of Florence - built in 1299 - a Romanesque crenellated fortress-palace and among the most impressive town halls in Tuscany

The ancient city walls of Florence clearly visible down a hillside

View of the back of a copy of Michelangel's David, situated high in the clouds above Florence

We ate a very soggy lunch at a restaurant at Piazza Michelangelo, high on one of the hills of Florence with spectacular views across the city before boarding the bus again to continue on our sightseeing trip.

We passed several beautiful homes on the hills as we descended to Florence again

The old city gates and walls of Florence

We passed over the peaceful Arno River on our bus journey

Our bus wound down the narrow streets and we took in all the sights - including a couple of pigeons taking shelter from the rain!

If you look closely you can see how closely the cars are parked to each other!

The rain started to let up when we alighted from the bus in order to join our tour of Galleria dell Acadamia where the Statue of David is housed. Consequently we were able to explore some of the streets of Florence on foot, including the area around The Duomo.

The Campanile (or tower) and Facade of The Duomo of Florence

The beautiful facade of The Duomo or Cathedral of Florence

The Baptistry, the Campanile or tower, and The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or "The Duomo"

Looking down to The Baptistry with the magnificent Cathedral of Florence on the right

We had to leave this area to join our tour but decided to come back later and really take in the magnificence of the buildings.

We wound our way through more exquisite streets of Florence through gorgeous arcades and past elegant buildings - if it hadn't been raining so hard I would have loved to have explored them further

View down to The Campanile, part of The Duomo, taken from outside Galleria dell Accadamia, in which the statue of David resides.

Michelangelo's magnificent masterpiece - "Statue of David" - now situated in Gallaria dell Acaddamia. Created from 1501 to 1504 it stands 5.17 metres tall. I stood looking in amazement at this statue for about 20 minutes, with scores of other people sketching it beside me. The detail was incredible and the marble seemed to almost glow. If you go to Florence you must visit this amazing work of art.

As in Rome, I loved the narrow streets of Florence with amazing old buildings lining each one. We wandered down many of these beautiful streets looking for souvenirs and gifts and taking photos along the way.

Looking down one of the narrow streets of Florence to Giotto's Campanile, part of the famous Florence Cathedral or "Duomo"

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or "The Duomo" Begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed in 1436, it is made of marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. It is one of Italy's largest churches and remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

Side wall of The Duomo with The Baptistry on the right.

The piazza in front of Florence Duomo - hundreds of people were on this piazza, staring in amazement at the magnificence of this building The amazing facade and doors of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or "The Duomo".

Statues above the Baptistry Doors

The Baptistry Doors - approximately 6 metres high Ghiberti, a highly recognised artist, was the sculptor and said they were "the most singular work that I have ever made" and took him 27 years to create them. Michelangelo referred to these doors as "The Gates of Paradise" and they are still referred to by this name. Giorgio Vasari described them a century later as "undeniably perfect in every way and must rank as the finest masterpiece ever created".

These amazing doors have famous Old Testament scenes etched in bronze and overlaid with gold on each of the panels. They individually depict more than one episode of the person's life that it represents and if you click on each photo these can be seen more clearly.

Sculpture of Adam and Eve on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Cain and Abel on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Abraham on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Noah on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Isaac with Esau and Jacob on "The Gates of Paradise" Sculpture of Joseph on "The Gates of Paradise". According to experts this was the most difficult and the most beautiful of all the panels. It depicts Joseph Cast by his Brethren into the Well, Joseph Sold to the Merchants, The Merchants Delivering Joseph to Pharaoh, Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh's Dream, Pharaoh Paying him Honour, Jacob Sends his Sons to Egypt, and Joseph Recognising his Brothers and Returns Home

Sculpture of Moses on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of David on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Joshua on "The Gates of Paradise"

Sculpture of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba on "The Gates of Paradise"

The amazing Campanile and Duomo - absolutely spectacular with sculptures and paintings covering every surface

Buildings that line the piazza in front of The Duomo in Florence

A street corner in Florence

The Ospedale degli Innocenti or Hospital of the Innocents was a children's orphanage in Florence built in 1419. Notice the glazed blue terracotta roundels with reliefs of babies which shows the function of the building. Children were sometimes abandoned in a basin which was located in the front portico but this was removed in 1660 and replaced by a rotating horizontal wheel that the baby was placed on and brought into the orphanage while the parents could remain anonymous so that their child could be cared for rather than abandoned in the country. This system still operated until the hospital's closure in 1875.

Beautiful buildings spotted while on the bus in Florence

A causeway over the Arno River in central Florence with elegant home lining its banks One of many ancient towers in Florence

Elegant homes lining the Arno River beside a causeway in the CBD

Typical streets of Florence - very wet but still picturesque!

The River Arno flowing through Florence with the famous Ponte Vecchio spanning it

The narrow streets of Florence - including passing under ancient archways

The impressive Palazzo Pitti was built in the 15th Century by Brunelleschi. Luca Pitti, a businessman/banker had it built to rival the Medici family - his great rivals. With a 200 metre facade this is the largest Renaissance Palace and is built entirely of huge blocks of stone

Last images from the wet streets of Florence

We eventually made our way back to the train station and, because of the rain, we decided to just have McDonalds for dinner rather than getting even wetter trying to find a trattoria. We caught the train back at 7.15 p.m. and arrived back at our B&B at around 9.00 p.m. It hadn't been quite the day I expected - raining so not able to see all the sights I had planned - such a shame as it truly is an exquisite city but at least I now knew why Lucy wanted to visit it so much! I'll just have to come back again one day!