Florence

the Arno River running through Florence

Florence, located in the region of Tuscany was a nice change from Venice because the streets were bigger and easier to navigate around. We soon found out how crazy the drivers of Italy are. With all cobble stone roads and very few line markings you have to be very alert when crossing the road (Leah is not good at this).

The Santa Maria Del Fiore

man beating centaur with club

We walked into the town square and saw some statues and churches along the way. Florence is known for its leather products so we of course visited some leather markets. With so many wallets, books, bags and shoes to choose from, each store started to look the same after a while. 

Then of course we went to visit David, and he was breathtaking. The 5 metre statue was all carved from the 1 peice of marble. Michelangelo’s brilliance was amazing to see in real life. Photos were forbidden and this was policed by some very angry looking security guards telling people off. Arvi loved Davey so much he even considered buying a pair of the statue of David boxer shorts sold at many tourist stands.

Statue of Neptune

We cultured ourselves that night with a Tuscan wine, olive oil and cheese tasting. We enjoyed lovely wines made from Tuscan Sangiovese grapes with smells of raspberry, vanilla, cinnamon and leather which perfectly complemented an aged, smooth sheep cheese (oh yes, we learnt how to talk like fancy wine connoisseurs!).

Crack face

Gardens in the Pitti Palace

We also visited the Palazzo Pitti and surrounding gardens. Pitti was a banker who then sold the palace to the Medici family, a family who ruled Florence and Tuscany for over 300 years. The Medici's also had a big hand in the birth of the Renaissance period. The Palace was huge! The stones on their front gate were bigger than our bunk beds. We walked around the impressive gardens, which you would easily get lost in. We also got to explore some of the entertaining rooms of the palace, which were elaborately decorated  in beautiful paintings. The paintings that covered the walls were 3D and created an optical illusion of staircases, balconies and an open roof. It was defiantly the most impressive palace we have visited to date.

Still smiling with the lovely Tuscan backdrop in the palace gardens.