Mediterranean Cruise 2005

Florence!

A quick overnight sail puts us in the port city of Livorno, Italy.  Today’s choices of shore destinations are either Pisa (and the “Leaning Tower”) or Florence.  This time, all four of us are in solid agreement – we’re heading to Florence!  So – onto the bus and a roughly 90 minute ride through the increasingly beautiful Tuscany countryside!  

Arriving in Florence, the entire tour group gathers in front of the Santa Croce cathedral and are told we can either go with the designated guide or be “on our own” for the day.  The four of us enthusiastically select “on our own” – and head off for lunch to get sorted for the day!

Lunch will be an open-air cafe that Paul and Geri had been to on their previous visit – it is situated right on the edge of the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the world-famous Palazzo Vecchio.  We really enjoyed the wonderful ravioli and hot chocolate (weird combo, but it worked!).

In front of the Palazzo, there were a number of AMAZING Renaissance sculptures, heading down into the Ufizi Gallery where even more sculptures were located. 

One of the most obvious displays was an exact replica of Michelangelo’s David.  Given our extremely limited time in Florence for this visit, we had decided to not waste even a minute waiting in line to see the real masterpiece.  This one was amazing enough, as were many of the others.

One of the fun little facts we learned, after noticing SO MANY of the little puppet in stores and tourist shops, was that the writer of Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi) was from Florence.  They’re (correctly) extremely proud of that fact – and definitely play it up! 

This is where we split into two groups, but this time it’s “guys and gals” – as Paul and I are going to go do some more historical sightseeing while the girls go shopping!

Boboli Gardens

Walking through the sights of the Ufizi Gallery, we step out onto the banks of the Arno River.  The famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, greets us immediately.  That’s where we’ll cross to get through to our next destination.

The Ponte Vecchio, built originally in Roman times and then rebuilt in the 14th century has a deep and (pun intended) rich history across the millennia.  There have been many shops along the bridge since the middle ages – and you can tell by the way the bridge is built out overhanging the river that every attempt to maximize traffic on the bridge itself is made.  All that much better for the merchants themselves.  It wasn’t until 1593 that Ferdinand made it law that only goldsmiths and jewelers would be allowed – apparently, the butcher shops and tanners were causing quite the mess and quite the stench!

When we walk through the hustle and bustle of the bridge, there are times where there is a literal gold glow on the walls, ceilings, and floor of the passageway through the closed sections at each end of the bridge.  It’s a cool effect!

Our destination, though, are the famous Boboli Gardens, formerly owned by the Medici family.

Even with Paul avoiding certain displays, there are MORE than enough incredible things to see, including an Egyptian obelisk from the time of Ramses II.   It’s a beautiful day, and walking the grounds, we go towards the top and are treated with a lovely view back down towards the Pitti Palace.

Continuing on, there’s an amazing panoramic vista out across the Tuscan hillside.  I think I’ll take that villa and be quite happy, thankyouverymuch!

  An incredible pond, with a dramatic statue of Neptune, dominates the top section of the Gardens.  Paul strikes his normal vacation pose, too … see?  I’m not the only one!

As we walk back down towards the Pitti Palace, we realize that there is an absolute AMAZING view of Florence that can be seen from the Gardens!  The Duomo is clearly visible in the distance and is where we’ll be meeting the girls in an hour or so.  Don’t get too excited by how close it looks in this photo … that’s zoomed in QUITE a bit!  Ha!

Making a quick pit stop in the museum cafe for a cool drink and facility break, we say goodbye to this distinguished Roman fellow and head back into Florence! 

It’s another excuse to cross the Ponte Vecchio, this time I get some wonderful gelato!  It’s not a day in Italy without gelato!  Or, at least that’s my motto for the rest of this trip.  😀

Il Duomo

Strolling back into Florence with my stracciatella gelato in hand is another people-watching pleasure. Paul and I casually make our way to the Piazza del Duomo. This is where the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower) looms large. This cathedral, known informally as il Duomo (the Dome) because of the brightly colored dome that dominates the view from almost any angle!

Directly across from the main cathedral doors is the huge Baptistery of Saint John – and its huge bronze door is incredible!  Each of the panels depicts Biblical scenes are are works of art that stand on their own!

The massive doors of the cathedral itself are shut, as there was some private ceremony taking place when we were there.  If you know me at all, you can understand how disappointing this was — as European churches and cathedrals, from the smallest to the most grandiose, are some of my favorite tourist and photography destinations.

While waiting for the girls, we continue to marvel over the intricate and numerous relief carvings across the front of the cathedral.

Even looking up at the attached bell tower, you can see that there are many statuary examples much higher up than the piazza. 

Meeting the girls here, we walk back to the Piazza di Santa Croce to join the rest of our cruise group for the bus ride back … given how much walking we’ve done today, I’m pretty sure we all napped on the ride back to Voyager!