October 27, 2011: When we got to Florence the previous day we were so tired because we were been on a whole day train ride patiently transferring form one station to another station to get to the city because of the flooding that happened in Spieza.
Well, at least we are here now in Florence. We woke up this cold morning in this Tuscanian city, tired and very exhausted from yesterday's trip but eventually we got excited on what to expect today because the weather will be nice and the rain is not apparent although the cold breeze of the wind is still imminent everywhere.
Florence is considered one of the beautiful Italian city not just for it's exceptional architectural designs but also of it's massive collection of arts dated the renaissance time. The Duomo alone promised a lot of architectural wonders and the expanse of it's dome being the largest around the world is a wonder to my eyes.
The night before we strolled a little bit of the surrounding area around the Duomo because our hotel is near the church. We also went to their local restaurant Mocassa reecommended by the hotel to us and tasted the local foods they offered there. It was all delicious and delectable. The wine is unforgettable and excellent.
After we took a much needed shower we went down to the first floor and enjoyed the hearty Italian continental breakfast consisting of bread of varying shapes and sizes, coffeee, orange juice, fruit jams and yogurt. I took a light breakfast because I just want to reserve my appetite for the lunch later.
After the breakfast we started our stroll. We went back to the Plaza Vecchio and went to the Palazzo Vecchio and perused the museum inside. All the ceilings were painted with a wide array of frescoes and reliefs and I kept flashing my camera trying to capture the beautiful artworks.
The palace was adorned with a lot of sculptures also dated from Michaelangelo's time. The structures were very defined and very pleasing to look at. We took our time to check each room with the paintings and trying to imbued ourselves with the feeling of going back to those times where people are being painted half naked. It was a very welcoming feeling.
We stayed in the palace for two hours browsing all the artworks never leaving anything not being seen. We checked some twice or thrice until we got fed up. In short, we really feasted our eyes with all of these artworks that are abundant in front of us. We will probably never be back here again so this is the time to feel everything is real.
The difference between seeing it in person from the books is very different and I felt a little prouder because I got the opportunity to have seen Michaelangelo's "The Birth of Venus" and "The Spring". It was very fascinating and captivating.
Florence is Firenze in Italian. It is one of the big city in the Tuscanian country in 1400-1500's. It is where the Italian language had evolved as being marginalized in some of Dante's poems, an Italian poet.
After were done at the Palazzo de Vecchio we also browsed it's courtyard teeming with architectures and sculptures. The fountain of Neptune was very elaborate and pretty and the replica of the statue of David in front of the palace had even titillated my senses as well as the Odysseus cutting Medusa's head at the pantheon adjacent the palace. Various sculptural designs had captured my attention and I was very excited to checked them one by one and gave them an honest personal judgment on the artwork.
We then went to the Gallerie de Academia where they housed the original statue of David but when we got there the line was very long. We decided to grab some lunch because it was already past twelve at that time.
We went in to this very sleek restaurant and we didn't know it was a vegetarian restaurant. All their food and pasta's were made from vegetables and they are very delicious. We decided to come back to the Academia Gallery tomorrow to have a date with David.
After lunch we then headed to shop and I bought football jersies and jackets as well as Italian jewelries. We also shop a little bit on the shopping stalls and went to Ponte de Vecchio were the jewelries are being sold. The river was crystal clear and the bridge which was rumor to be nearly collapsing was teeming with stalls selling Italian golds and jewelries.
We also browsed the streets of Florence and the parks. We rode the bus and went to Michaelangelo's garden and saw the aerial view of the whole city.
It was already dusk when we went up there but the night shot or view of the city from the hill was very stunning. There was a bronze replica of David from there and I just can't stop clicking my iPhone from the sculpture's all corners 360 degrees.
We rode the bus back to the city and decided to have our dinner at another authentic Italian restaurant where we ate pizza and drank wine. We ate heartily because we were so tired then we walked back to the hotel.
On the way we noticed a very nice bar so we went and checked it out. Good thing they have WiFi so I started uploading some of my pics to Facebook to let my friends see that I am enjoying Italy on this journey.
We went back to the hotel past midnight and retired early because we were so tired. The day of strolling Florence was very fun. Good thing the weather had cooperated and I got to appreciate the beauty of the whole city personally compared to just looking at it from the pictures in the coffee table books.
I learned how romantic the city is and how people appreciate the beauty of art. I am so lucky to have witnessed it personally and I am glad I am here.
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