Firenze, Italia

Buongiorno,

Florence is about an hour north of Siena so it's really easy to get to, bus or train. Before I went there I had been told about Florence's leather industry and its beautiful buildings and fashion. I was not let down. It was beautiful, and pretty urban, and romantic, and everything you'd expect it to be. I was there for 4 days, one of which was with school, so I saw much of the city but certainly left with lots to explore for the next time.

This man wouldn't let me touch his horse without paying for a carriage ride, so I snuck a free photo of him instead. How stylish is he?!

The Duomo in Firenze. Huge Cathedral so it was hard to capture. This isn't a great photo but it shows just how massive it is. and absolutely beautiful and intricate.

Piazza Pitti. Really cool piazza, except for this man who evidently found it very warm. Pun intended. :)

House of Bianca Capella. Capella means hat in Italian. I forget the irony but I think Bianca liked her hats...some connection. Anyway...little history lesson. Marriage in this period was mostly for economic and political reasons, rarely was someone married out of love. Bianca was the mistress of someone important, yada yada yada... Her father was an influential guy. He declared her to be executed. Long story short, the man she loved created this building for her. And they lived happily ever after. Little more complicated than that, but my memory is becoming mush as the cities add up.

This is underneath a bridge that in the Medieval period had all butcher shops on it. The Duke of Florence (Cosimo the 1st I believe) didn't like walking around in all the blood and scattered flesh, so he had them banned. Now the bridge only has jewelry and something else.

Tourists will fall for anything;).

This is a Chapel that was created by a guy who was obsessed with math. Primarily I think he was a mathematician, geometry and then an artist. Renaissance was very much about quality of life, and to increase ones knowledge of the world, and culture and humanity. So this man created a Chapel that was exactly symmetrical, and mathematically even. It was pretty unbelieveable to be sitting in a room that is precisely measured to be symetric to the other side. This is the ceiling, which evenly splayed over the floor, which even fit into....you get the idea. Perfectionist doesn't even begin to describe this artist.

We climbed up to the top of Michaelangelo's Villa which was at the top of a beautiful hill. Big hike but worth it! Absolutely stunning view of Florence. This was just one angle of the city.

One of the bridges from above, at night.

A friend of mine and I were walking around Florence, and noticed a crowd. A performer! This guy was hilarious and had a child as a partner. I mentioned that I was glad he hadn't pulled me in, and then 5mins later he came up to me and made me go into the middle of the crowd and assist in his act. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut.

Florence was such an awesome weekend. Since it's so close so Siena, I may try to go back there briefly before I fly home. I w0uldn't mind more leather...:)

xo