FIRENZE

Bed & Breakfast

The past week and a half, Nick and I welcomed my parents to Italy! They're our first visitors. I almost have too many adventures to write about! One of the highlights was FLORENCE, or as the Italians say, Firenze. We drove 3.5 hours on the Autostrada south west of Sacile, and drove through beautiful mountain towns to reach the chaos of Firenze. We only got lost 3 times while trying to find our bed and breakfast- Hotel in Palace. (Yes, Hotel IN Palace, not Hotel in THE Palace. Silly, Italians!)











I have to give a lot of credit to Nick for finding our sweet retreat. It used to be a home for a dentist before he turned it into a bed and breakfast. This is no ordinary bed and breakfast. It was located on the top floor of a palace. (Thus the name- Hotel in Palace) 









It's located just a few blocks from the center of Firenze, and it has a beautiful garden with a fountain. It's a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city!

The B & B is located on the top floor of the Palace. To get to the top floor you have to either ride a small elevator that can barely hold 4 people, or you can do what Nick did and race the elevator to the 3rd floor. From there you have to climb a spiral stair case to the entrance of the Bed and Breakfast. There is a glass elevator, but it's meant mainly for luggage.
The picture to the right is the view we had from our room.





CHURCHES
We got our fair share of museums and churches while we were there. The first church we hit was right in the heart of Florence - the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore - aka the Duomo. It is massive!! It is almost 300 feet tall and was built back in the 15th century!
 It still baffles me that a structure of that size was made back then without all of the machinery we have available today.







We climbed the 463 steps up a narrow staircase to the top of the Duomo, which was no small feat, but the view was totally worth it! Half way up the stairs, you can walk around the fresco painted on the inside of the dome.










The painting was an interpretation of heaven and hell. I don't think I'll post some of the pictures we have of hell because it was REALLY graphic. You can see where hell starts in the bottom right corner of the picture to the right. I'm still shocked that anyone would paint something so graphic in a CHURCH!

I learned a few other interesting things in Florence, and some of them are somewhat embarrassing to admit...but here I go. For instance, did you know that most churches are built in the shape of a cross? I didn't! Hopefully, there's someone out there that didn't know that either. :)
Did you also know that there are bodies buried in churches? Literally IN the church! There were tombs and caskets everywhere! Can you imagine going to church and having to look at graphic paintings of hell, while there are dead people buried all around you??
Don't get me wrong, the churches are beautiful. They have stained glass windows, beautiful paintings (not of hell), massive wooden doors, and they're rich with history. I guess I just grew up with a very different idea of church. :)

Above is a picture of me climbing up to the top of the Duomo. The ceilings were pretty low and the stairways were narrow. It was interesting when we had people coming back down from the top and we had to squeeze by each other.
The view from the top was spectacular! Here's one of the best shots I took. In the foreground, you can see the bell tower, or Campanile, next to the Duomo.

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a jumping photo 300 feet up on top of the dome! This shot of Nick took about 10 different tries and this was the best one. The best part about taking these photos is watching all the reactions around us. The couple next to us were laughing watching Nick jumping over and over because I wasn't taking the picture fast enough. Haha!











MUSEUMS
We were technically in Florence during the off-season, but there were still TONS of tourists! Most of the tourists are Americans.  I heard more English in Florence than I've heard in the past 3 months that we've been in Italy. It makes it hard not to eaves drop, when you hear so much English again. :)
If you want to beat all of the other American tourists to the museums, you have to get there early!








The first museum we saw was the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's David is located. We got there right after it opened, and there was already a long line. David certainly was worth the wait! I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't realize that David is sculpted after the Bible story of David and Goliath! I just thought it was a hunky, nude male sculpture that Michelangelo decided to call David! (Hopefully, I'm not the only one that just realized this!)










I don't have any good photos of David because you're not technically supposed to take any photos in the museum, so here's a few pictures of Nick being silly. :)

We also went to the Uffizi, and saw some of Botticelli's paintings including the "Birth of Venus."

It still amazed me how much time was spent painting, sculpting, and building back then! People dedicated their lives to art, and it's still intact after all of these years!

The picture to the left is of one of the main halls in the Uffizi. Again, we weren't supposed to take any pics, but I snuck this one in. :)

MARKETS

After we were completely numb from walking through churches and museums we went to the Leather Market. A few streets were lined with vendors, and their colorful booths were packed with purses, jackets, bags, scarves...etc. The vendors would yell things at you to get you to go to their booth. My favorite was, "Come to my booth where everything is ALMOST free." We found a few little treasures amidst the chaos, and moved onto the Mercato Centrale (Central Market) which was indoors.










The Mercato Centrale had mostly bread, seafood and meats. I noticed Italians laughing as they passed by one booth. The vendor had a sign that read, "No fondling the meat," in Italian. Haha!











At the end of the day we went to a market in the Piazza della Republicca. Vendors carried mostly cheeses, chocolates, and sausage, and you could walk around and try a little of each. When we were getting ready to leave Nick noticed a pastry booth. He got a hot donut filled with cream, and I found my new love: fresh Cannoli. Holy CANNOLI, they are addicting! I'm tempted to learn how to make them, but I think that might be dangerous because I would eat ALL of them. I would have taken a picture of our delicious treats, but I was too busy eating them. :)





PONTE VECCHIO

Ponte Vechhio literally translates to "Old Bridge." It has merchants all along the sides that mostly sell jewelry. It is one of the most well- known places in Florence, but I was left wondering why it is so well known. It does have a lot of history to it, but then again so do a lot of other places in Florence.

My highlight was seeing Nick try to take a picture with one of the local police ladies on Ponte Vecchio. She was not amused, but we were. :)










I also noticed all of the love locks that are on Ponte Vechhio. Couples attach the locks on the bridge, then throw the key into the river. Apparently, you will be fined 50 Euro if you're caught putting one on the bridge because it not only damages the bridge, but someone has to come and break them off.





HOME AGAIN

Overall, we had a fabulous weekend in Florence! November is definitely a rainy month in Italy, but it's so pleasant walking around in the cool weather!
There's soooo much history in Florence. You could stay here for a month and still not have visited all of the churches and museums. It is one of my favorite cities I've visited so far, but for now I'm happy to go home to Sacile.

Ciao for now!