Wanderlust Traveler: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Florence, Italy (Sightseeing)

We spent two days in Florence during our trip to Italy in September of 2011.

Below I have described each of the sites we saw while in Florence. Be forewarned that this post is very long and photo heavy!

Ponte Vecchio:
Florence's most famous bridge is the oldest in the city, having been built in 1345. The bridge is lined with overpriced gold and silver shops, lots of tourists, and street musicians. I personally wasn't impressed with the bridge nor the hoards of people on it but if you find yourself needing to cross a bridge in Florence, you might as well walk across the Ponte Vecchio!

View of the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

View of the Arno River and the Uffizi Gallery.

The Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio

The crowded Ponte Vecchio.

View of the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio

Jewelry for sale on the Ponte Vecchio

Piazza del Duomo:
This famous piazza contains three of Florence's most visited sights; its Duomo, Campanile, and Baptistery, all of which are listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore):
Florence's colorful Gothic cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world. Building of the cathedral began in 1296 but took nearly 140 years to complete. The unique pink, green, and white marble facade was added in the 19th century to replace the original which had been torn down in the 16th century. Although the exterior of the church is both impressive and gorgeous, its interior is neither. In fact, it is rather bland and quite disappointing especially when compared to other famous churches in Italy such as St Peter's Basilica.

The Duomo's beautiful and striking dome was designed by Brunelleschi in 1463 and inspired many other domes throughout the centuries in Europe as it was the largest in its time to be built without scaffolding. We climbed 463 sweat-induced steps to the top of the dome and were provided with an amazing view of the city.

Although entrance to the Duomo is free, there is a charge to climb to the dome. I read multiple warnings that visitors to the Duomo would want to arrive early (no later than 8:30) or else be forced to wait in a massively long line. Sure enough, on our first day in Florence we saw the horrendously long line. However, I had also read that there was a way to avoid standing in line by signing up for a Terraces of the Cathedral and Dome tour. This tour allows individuals to bypass the entrance line to the Duomo all-together, includes a guided tour of the interior of the Duomo and its normally gated-off exterior terrace, and finally the entrance fee to the dome. Tickets can be purchased at the nearby Duomo Museum which is located directly behind the Duomo. I found this tour to be extremely interesting, especially the time we spent up on the terrace where we had an uncrowded view of the piazza and nearby buildings. Additionally, having the ability to walk straight into the cathedral instead of waiting for an hour or more in line more than made up for the cost of the tour.

Campanile:
Directly next to the Duomo is the Campanile (bell tower) which is just slightly shorter than the dome and was completed in 1359. Visitors can climb 414 steps to the top of the tower to be rewarded with a view of the city, however, be forewarned that the metal bars make taking photographs difficult. Instead, if you want a good unobstructed view of the city, climb to the Duomo's dome (see above).

Florence's Duomo and Campanile.

Florence's Duomo.

Florence's Duomo and Campanile.

Florence's Baptistery, Duomo, and Campanile.

Campanile

Florence's Duomo and Campanile.

Interior of Florence's Duomo.

Detail from the dome of Florence's Duomo.

Interior of Florence's Duomo.

On top of the terrace of the Duomo in Florence.

View from the terrace of the Duomo in Florence.

View of the Campanile from the terrace of the Duomo.

On the terrace of the Duomo.

Looking up from the terrace of the Duomo to it's dome.

On the terrace of the Duomo.

View from the terrace level of the interior of the Duomo.

View from the terrace of the Duomo.

Statues that were once on the exterior of the cathedral. In amazing condition considering they were made out of paper!

Walking around the interior of the Duomo's dome.

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo's dome.

Standing atop the top of the Duomo's dome with a view of Florence.

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo's dome.

Walking around the interior of the Duomo's dome on our way back down.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tuscany, Italy (Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa)

We spent three nights in Florence during our trip to Italy in September of 2011. Of those three days we chose to spend two in the city and opted to use the other for The Best of Tuscany Tour through a company called Walkabout Florence.

I am not normally a fan of guided bus tours, however, this tour was highly rated on Trip Advisor and would enable us to see many places over the course of 12 hours that we wouldn't have been able to see using public transportation. Additionally, the cost was 80 Euro per person which included transportation, a guided tour in Siena, entrance to Siena's Cathedral, and a multi-course lunch with wine at a winery/farm which I found to be a good value.

The meeting point for the tour was directly in front of the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence which was an easy walk from our bed and breakfast. Our first stop of the day was in Siena, followed by lunch and a tour at a local winery, then a visit to San Gimignano, and our final stop was in Pisa. It was a very long day but one of our favorite experiences of the trip. It was great to sit back on the bus and relax and not have to worry about where we were going or how we would get there. In addition to the the stress-free environment our tour guide provided commentary nearly the entire drive on each of the places we were visiting which was extremely informative and helpful.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone without a rental car who wants to see Siena, Pisa, and San Gimignano over the course of one day.

Below I have described each of the places we visited during our tour.

Siena:

The entire historic center of this beautiful city is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. During medieval times, Siena was Florence's arch rival. The city was also a major banking and trade center of Europe until the Black Death arrived in 1348, killing a large percentage of its population. Siena's power began declining after this point and in the 1550's Florence conquered the city enabling Florence to become the most powerful city in the area. The rivalry between the two cities continues to this day with most people strongly favoring one city over the other.

The Best of Tuscany Tour included a guided walking tour of Siena with an official tourist guide from the city. She provided us with detailed information on the history of the city and the traditional events that take place in Siena every year, including the 600 year-old Palio horse race. One of the main benefits to guided tours is that they tend to show you things or places you might not have seen or noticed on your own and give explanations on the different historical sights and buildings.

In the very short two hours we had to explore the city, we managed to see the gorgeous Piazza del Campo and the town's famous Duomo as well as strolling through many of the backstreets.

Piazza del Campo:
Siena's vast main square is located in the heart of the city. Many have said that this piazza is the loveliest square in all of Italy, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Piazza del Campo holds the palio festival twice a year, which is a bareback horse race. Ten of Siena's 17 neighborhoods compete in the race, with days of heavy betting and competitive celebration preceding the race. Dirt is brought into the piazza to create the surface of the track with mattresses lining the buildings of the square. Whichever neighborhood ends up winning the race is given the much sought-after palio (silk banner) as its prize.