Duomo and Tuscany

We woke up early to climb 463 steps to the top of the Duomo before it got too hot or crowded. This distinctive feature of Florence’s skyline is the fifth largest church in the world. The climb offers views of the Renaissance city through narrow stone windows and an interior bird's eye perspective of the cathedral. As you near the top and realize that you are actually climbing between the dome's two ancient layers, your heart pounds with cardiac exertion and heartfelt awe. The narrow staircase built into the stone dome and its spindly metal railing are precarious but thrilling, and emphasize what an immense undertaking the construction of this cathedral was. When you finally emerge into the sunlight atop the dome, you can almost feel Brunelleschi's genius emanating from the smooth red roof. So crazy to think about what famous historical people walked up the same steps and overlooked the city 600 years ago!

After the Duomo, we strolled through the central market (San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale). On the ground floor of the Central Market, vendors sell meats, fish and a variety of cheeses. The second floor is fresh fruit, vegetables as well as dried fruit, nuts, honey, homemade pasta, wine, herbs, and other produce.
The area around the central market is probably the busiest in Florence. During the day, street vendors sell anything from t-shirts to leather goods. You can also buy beautiful capes and pashminas in fabulous colors. We made a new friend with an Italian man who had a leather shop that comes to Los Angeles often. He was so friendly and excited to meet people from LA.He recommended an excellent place for lunch, La Falterona Ristorante on Via G. Zannoni.
Lapo's special Mediterranean Ravioli was magnificent!
Next it was on to our Tuscan wine tour!
Wine-tasting, scenic drives through magnificent Tuscan landscapes, and a traditional dinner in Chanti - is there a better way to spend the afternoon in Tuscany? I think not.Our first stop was Castello Il Palagio. Castello Il Palagio has been producing wines for over 200 years! We had a tour of the wine cellars and of the medieval castle, with its beautiful gothic chapel and its typical Italian style garden. We tasted four different wines here each paired with food such as cheese, salami, ham, bruschetta or bread with some typical sauces. In the end, Vinsanto, the typical dessert wine of the area, and cantuccini, the biscuits with almonds, were served. I loved their style of "tasting" they gave us a bottle of each and you help yourself!More scenic Tuscan countryside on our way to Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti.

Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti is an amazing wine museum/tasting centre. It is located underneath Greve in Chianti's old town center. It features over 1200 varieties of wine from the region and offers 140 different wines to taste. Basically you put credit onto a card and are given glasses, you then wander around the wines and when you want to try one you insert your card and press the button to dispense wine.

Most tastings for the standard wines were €0.60 for a quarter of a glass. But the Super Tuscans that are about €600 a bottle will set you back about €4 a taste. All in all a great way to try the wines - reds, whites, sparkling, and dessert wines. We thought this was one of the coolest things ever!!!! I cannot believe we don't have this fantastic idea around here!


We then stopped in Castellina in Chianti. Castellina in Chianti is a commune (municipality) of 2,800 inhabitants in the province of Siena, in the Italian region Tuscany. It is part of the Chianti Hills, between the valleys of the Arbia, Pesa and Elsa rivers. It is characterized by underground vaulted passages such as the Via delle Volte. It is an extremely charming little village with beautiful stone buildings and cute shops.




At the end of the tour was a wonderful Tuscan dinner at an award winning little restaurant in a charming old village in the hills.

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Firenze

We caught the train out of Roma Termini, the main train station of Rome, to Florence which was only about an hour and forty minutes on a high speed rail. Located on the Arno River in Tuscany, Florence (Firenze in Italian) is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance that spread throughout the western world.

After dragging our suitcases to the hotel, which wasn't too far from the train, but cobblestone streets aren't easy to drag suitcases on even if they have wheels. We tried to take Florence a bit slower than Rome and do more meandering. We found a great trattoria for lunch, had some delicious fresh pasta. We wandered around the streets taking in the sights. We stopped several times for a glass of delicious Italian wine.

Arch of Triumph in the Piazza della Repubblica, one of the main squares in Florence and marks the center of the city since Roman times.

every truck in Italy has 3 wheels and is supersmall

Il Duomo (Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore) - The Florentine Gothic duomo was begun in 1296 and consecrated in 1436. The facade dates to the 19th century. Brunelleschi's Dome is a masterpiece of construction.

Arno River from Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge. From the outside the bridge looks as if it were still crowded with the crammed blacksmith and butcher shops of the medieval period, but it's all glittery gold and tourist baubles today. Spared from bombing in WWII, it used to be built of wood but a rebuild in the 1300's made it mostly stone.

We decided to hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo, renowned for its panoramic views of Florence and the Arno valley. Piazzale Michelangelo, dedicated to the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo, has copies of some of his famous works in Florence: the David and the four allegories of the Medici Chapel of San Lorenzo. These copies are made of bronze, while the originals are all in white marble. We earned the views with the uphill hike, but it was so worth it! This is absolutely the most beautiful panoramic view of Florence that can possibly exist. Slender bell towers rise above the sea of terra cotta tiles that cover the roofs of Florence's palazzos. Brunelleschi's legendary dome dominates the skyline making it among the world's most recognizable cities. I could even see the hills of Tuscany in the distance.


We happened across the Piazza della Signora beneath the clock tower! This fantastic square was filled with replicas of famous statues around Italy as well as tons of people enjoying the day. In this plaza, Michelangelo's David was placed. Today, a replica holds the spot and the original was moved indoors to the Academia in 1873 to protect the work

Gelato shops are very prevalent in Italy. Gelato is Italian "ice cream", but is different from American-style ice cream. Ice cream is made from fresh cream, resulting in a butterfat content of between 10 and 30 percent. Gelato, on the other hand, is typically made with milk, and it has a fat content of between 1 and 10 percent. Gelato is not only healthier, but its flavor is easier to taste. The cream in ice cream saturates one’s taste buds; thus, its richness and sweetness prevail. I used the "healthier" excuse to have it daily while in Italy!

Many wealthy families in Italy had their own chapels within beautiful churches. The Medicis of Florence? They had their own whole church.

Florence isn’t that big, but it has the grandeur of such a scale. It’s center is riddled with tourists, but five minutes away you are discovering the hidden treasures the locals pride themselves with. It is a city with class, which manages to not be intimidating and is full of culture and arts. The streets are cobble stoned and full of arches, churches, cafes, amazing restaurants and jaw dropping Piazzas.

“I learned that the richness of life is found in adventure. . . . It develops self-reliance and independence. Life then teems with excitement. There is stagnation only in security.” – William Orville Douglas

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