The Magic of Florence

Where do I start? Florence, Italy is one of the greatest cities around. You walk one step in any direction and there is art. It is an open air art museum. The Traveling Wilbury's had a great time. My father's first words were, "Why are we here?" He meant, "What are we going to see?" much like the Colosseum in Rome, he wondered what sights? Three days later he said, "I really like Florence." What I gather is that he got it. There are sights, but more, Florence is just in and of itself, amazing.

The vibe on the street; the energy is alive. It is a big city, but not massive like Rome, so it is walkable and manageable. The Michelangelo's David is a sight to see and it is so impressive. I didn't go to see him again, but my family went. Minus Aunt Karen, they didn't know what to expect. I just told them they had to see him. They were all blown away.

We spent a lot of time viewing the Duomo, another impressive sight. Did you know that it was created BEFORE Columbus "sailed the ocean blue?" Now that is old. I climbed the 414 steps of the campnile(bell tower)to get some shots of the Duomo.

 Over 150 years, and way before Columbus, the Duomo was build with no assisted structure around it.

Campanile

In Italy I'm most impressed by the age of the buildings. These are over 2000 years old whereas one of our most iconic buildings in America, the White House, is only over 200 years old. WOW! Needless to say, the Wilbury's enjoyed Florence, as did I, ten times more than I did 11 years ago.

Other favorites:
The Ponte Vecchio-the only bridge in Florence not bombed by Hitler during WWII.

A beautiful sight

Eating a panini on the street

Scenes like this

So hot you could fry an egg

 The energy on the street

 Gino and Gino on a Sunday morning stroll

Besides the sights, we did a lot of gelato tasting, market shopping, and meandering in the piazzas. I bought a couple of scarves and my prized possession, blue suede shoes!!! Tommy bought shoes too and Kristen as well, with a purse tossed in there. Aunt Karen battled the heat of the market to walk away with some scarves and shoes too. I think Sheila walked away with no less than 3 purses. I'm not THAT close to the female mentality to understand the draw of a purse, but shoes....now shoes I get.

Overall, I think Florence was a great part of our trip. We had a couple of great meals, one at Osteria where the waiter/son, loved Madonna(Parents made the food)and her picture was all over.  This place only had about 6 tables.

We also randomly found a bar that played some of the World Cup and had good food. The atmosphere was enjoyable. The city is alive!!

Florence, I'll miss you.  Ciao!