Florence
On the train ride to Florence, Miller was harassed by this 5 year old little boy who didn't speak a word of English. Miller had to repeatedly insist that he didn't speak Italian. You can't see it too well in this picture, but here he is running up and down the train with a toy shotgun that looked disturbingly large and realistic.
We found our hotel, Hotel Andrea, without too much trouble. It was facing a spacious, quiet piazza and was two blocks from the train station. 130 euro per night for a double room, and the beds were cozy.
Italian TV shows, however, were admittedly disturbing.
Florence was a city that was all about art. Just like Belgium knew people came for the food, Florence knows what you're here for as well. On that note, you can imagine they know how to make their city look impressive.
Walking down the streets of Florence, we saw a deluge of tents set up, each selling the same types of decorative and practical souvenirs. I quickly bored of them.
One thing that did not bore me were the impressive and colorful stores that sold masks. Check out this beauty.
Recommended in our tourbook was this restaurant, known for its rich display of artwork which coated as much of the walls as possible.
Another piazza in Florence.
There were plenty of museums, most of which have rules against cameras. Taking pictures of bird sculptures such as these were highly forbidden.
Yet another dramatic fountain that doesn't hold a candle to Rome's Trevi Fountain. I stood in front of it to make sure it felt appreciated.
Segway were available for rental. Apparently this group decided to tour Florence in style.
The Arnot River, which Miller fervently claimed he waded through years ago, is decorated with bridges, that are much safer alternatives for transit. The famous bridge in front is lined with little shops.
Here's a shot of an eye-catching bridge.
Cars scurry across a bridge over the Arnot.
A random clock tower in Florence.
We went into the Uffizi museum which took 3 hours to get into. Just a quick note, the line for people who reserved their tickets in advance only had to wait an hour or so. It was worth it though. Works from so many artists I've read about were included there. In the museum store, I saw this little cookbook that had recipes inspired by foods depicted in works of art. I ended up buying this book through Amazon later.
This asphalt surface was actually at a 20-30 degree declination. The artsy youth of Florence were scattered about, resting, pretending they were on a beach, sorrowfully nonexistent here.
This forbidden picture is of a sculpture of a boy and a little dog. We were in a palace south of the Florence Cathedral, just south of the Arnot. Quite an impressive collection in that palace, including Titian, a famous painter from Venice.
A partially drawn replica of a Bernini sculpture (in Rome) decorated a piazza in Florence. It was customary to tip if you take a picture, so one of those coins are mine.
I unfortunately entered a "Leonardo Da Vinci" interactive museum, where you can play with replicas of his various inventions. Only half of them actually functioned, not including the flying machine of course.
Not even the flapping wing was operable. It was bolted down at the joint.
Italian choir children singing.
I found the Arnot was pleasant to walk along, and there was even some fishing.
We found a couple guys who actually caught a massive, 5 foot fish. Looks to me like a catfish, but I'm no fish expert. Here you see them removing the hook from the fish's mouth, so they can free it.
After pictures were taken and the hook was removed, the two sportsmen heaved the thing back into the Arnot.
Here's a shot of the Arnot at night. I think I was getting a bit better with my camera over the course of the trip, if I do say so myself.
A crowd was gathered around one of the hangouts along the Arnot, supposedly next to a British Embassy. As I learned in Rome, embassy workers can be a boisterous bunch.
Near the train station was a fortress. Apparently it was hosting a cardiology conference at the time.
The scales of justice, held by a random statue in Florence.
Here's a typical street in Florence, decorated with an archway.
Baroque architecture reminded me of the Il Gesu church in Rome.
Cool horse statue.
You couldn't help but notice that art appreciation was in the air. This guy worked some magic with spray paint, creating works of art that were selling easily.
Statue atop their pedestals, some more ornate than others..
The "must see" attraction in Florence, if you see nothing else, is the Florence cathedral. Brunelleschi, who designed this, was one of the founding fathers of Renaissance architecture.
Every bit of the cathedral was worthy of awe.
These magnificent doors were seen near the Cathedral.
For 6 euros, you could go in the Florence Cathedral and climb up to the top.
On the way up, we saw this display of statues.
Here's a shot of the ceiling in the cathedral.
The stairway up was predictably unsuitable for claustrophobics.
So when we reached the top, we were rewarded by sweeping views of Florence proper. That first picture showing an overview of Florence was also taken from here.
Here's a tower we also saw nearby.
Although the Florence Cathedral put everything else in Florence to shame, they still put plenty of effort into the surrounding buildings.
This proud soldier holds an eternal gaze toward the horizon.
Smart cars were frequently found throughout Italy. They park wherever they want, however they want.
While I did the bike tour of the Tuscan countryside, Miller scouted out the rest of Florence, literally. He was able to treat us to some pictures of statues like these that I didn't see for myself.
The words were unimportant here, as I don't know Italian.
Not only was so much thought put into the statues, but also the layout of magnificent courtyards such as this.
A painting on a ceiling. What was cool was that the floor was painted to look exactly the same.
Florence certainly captured the spirit of the Renaissance wholeheartedly.