Florence, Italy

Florence, cradle of the Renaissance. My sister Tracy had always dreamed of going to Florence, Italy. So she planned a trip for while she was in Germany visiting me. And because she is fantastic, she allowed me to join her and her family on the trip.

As I already posted, we stopped in Mittenwald, Germany on our drive down. Then we drove through northern Italy which was filled with mountains and vineyards. After the long but beautiful drive, we arrived at our destination.

We stayed in a camping village several miles outside of the city. We took a train into the city. Walking out of the train station in Florence, we happened upon a large outdoor market that was being overshadowed by this building:

This is the Basilica di San Lorenzo. It is one of the largest churches in Florence. It is also one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence. It was consecrated in 393. It was redesigned during the Renaissance. This basilica is also the burial place for prominent members of the Medici family (The Medici - according to wikipedia - produced four Popes of the Catholic Church, two regent queens of France, and eventually the family became the hereditary Dukes of Florence).

The most memorable sight for me was the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is most commonly called the Duomo. This building is exquisite. It is completely faced with colored marble panels. The detail is incredible. I took WAY too many pictures of this building:

See the tower on the left? We climbed to the top of that. It was a fantastic view of Florence from above:

Here are two views from the tower:

As were were walking around Florence, we came to the  Arno River.

There are several bridges that cross this river, but none so fascinating at Ponte Vecchio, the bridge behind Tracy in this picture:

This bridge was built in 1345 (after two previous versions of it had washed away in floods), and it was the only bridge in Florence to survive World War II. There are shops all along the bridge. Many of them hang off the side and are held up only by wood supports.

Tracy, her family, and the Arno River:

In areas surrounding the Ponte Vecchio, there are thousands of padlocks locked to fences, chains, and railings. The story goes like this: If you lock the padlock and throw the key into the river, you and your love will be eternally bonded:

Tracy and Kaylea and I went for a walk through the Boboli Gardens, a beautiful (and expensive) park that houses sculptures that date from the 16th through the 18th centuries:

Kaylea was still looking for love in Europe. I don't think this guy was physically capable of locking a padlock to a gate for Kaylea. To bad:

Before she will ever find true love, Kaylea must learn that nose-picking is not a desired quality in a woman:

Tracy felt that she could be a fantastic muse for a local sculptor. Look at her pose: 

Together, we had a fantastic time walking around the gardens and getting lost:

As we were walking through Florence, we found this statue of Leonardo Davinci, who was born in the Republic of Florence:

In the Piazza della Signoria, there are many famous statues, though most of them are copies of the originals. The most famous statue in the square is Michelangelo's David. History states that the original was in this outdoor square until 1873 when it was taken to the a local gallery in Florence to preserve it from the elements.

Here is the replica of David that remains in the Piazza: