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Postcards: 2-hours in Florence (IT)

A second day of whirlwind Italian sightseeing continued, this time to the heart of Tuscany. F and I were en route to Lucca, which requires at least a train change in Florence, and since we would be at the train station already anyway, why not take advantage of the time gap between trains to take a quick glimpse of the birthplace of Renaissance?

Florence

Florence

We were there sufficiently early in the morning that we could enjoy an external admiration of the prominent Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore among relatively thin crowd. Its green, pink, and white marble façade was breathtakingly elegant, and we also marvelled over the large brick dome – quite a feat of engineering when you consider the timeline of its construction. One of these days, I’ve got to visit it properly. This was my third trip to Florence and I’ve yet to step foot into the cathedral!

We continued on foot towards River Arno, with a short stopover at Piazza della Signoria. It was noticeably busier here as visitors milled around the Fountain of Neptune (which stood majestically and surrounded by satyrs), the Palazzo Vecchio (the spot for taking selfies with the replica of Michelangelo’s David), the Loggia dei Lanzi (with its many wonderful sculptures including those of Perseus and Hercules), and the Uffizi (home to exquisite art works including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Titian’s Venus of Urbino).

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

By the time we made our way to the riverbank and spied Ponte Vecchio mere steps away, we were surrounded by endless stream of tour groups, stepping off from the buses that deposited them by the river side of the Piazzale degli Uffizi. Getting to Ponte Vecchio itself was a challenge, and not particularly interested with the gold merchants plying their wares in the small shops lining the bridge, we went back towards the riverbank and sat for a moment on the wall.

A couple of hours was far from enough for us to get to know Florence better, but this teaser had F agreeing with me that we should plan a proper Tuscan/Perugian holiday. There’s something about it that speaks to us, and despite the swelling crowd with every minute ticking by, we did not feel the need to find an escape, like we did in Rome. We only “escaped” because we had a train to catch!

Florence: full photoset on Flickr

All posts in this series:
Italy: Postcards: Centro Storico di Roma | Flickr Photoset
Italy: Postcards: 2-hours in Florence | Flickr Photoset
Italy: The walled city of Lucca | Flickr Photoset
Italy: Dining in Lu.C.C.A – L’Imbuto
Italy: Sunsets of Cinque Terre
Italy: The villages of Cinque Terre | Flickr Photoset
Italy: Postcards: Lost in Parma
Italy: Bologna: the city of a gazillion porticoes | Flickr Photoset
Italy: The Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca
Italy: Verona: a lot more than a Shakespearean drama | Flickr Photoset
Italy: Postcards: In search of Padua
Italy: A very picturesque Bassano del Grappa | Flickr Photoset



Category: Europe, Italy, Travel

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4 scribbles & notes

  1. sila says:

    what a nice layover (i know, not a plane). what was the statue of the guy holding up the beheaded head? i thought the heads looked very similar looking. :)

    • Lil says:

      It was a bit hurried but indeed very nice. The statue is that of Cellini’s “Perseus with the head of Medusa” :)

  2. m3d says:

    Pretty good coverage for just 2 hours lil! ;)

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