Well we've almost finished our stay in Florence, which is a beautiful city, much easier and friendlier than Rome. Although it was sad to say goodbye to our lovely apartment and to Kerry and Pat, who were off to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon.
Our new accommodation, Pensione Canada, is very clean and nice and is incredibly close to the Duomo (you can hear the bells in the morning and evening) but lacks the charm of our flat in Rome. It's hard to get to know the other guests and there's no communal kitchen, which makes staying in Florence expensive!
When we arrived in Florence we dumped our bags in the hotel and went exploring, had lunch, etc... It's quite hot here, like Canberra hot and dry, so we've been siesta-ing most afternoons to avoid the sun.
On our second day in Florence we visited the Duomo, Campinalle and the Baptistery. The Duomo is huge and smack bang in the centre of town. It's very ornate with green, white and red tiles, which don't replicate well in photos - really has to be seen to be believed. Inside is very cool and quite and I was surprised at how simple and modest it was, apart from the ceiling of the dome, which has bright frescoes. The best item is the clock, which is 24 hours and goes anti-clockwise, according to our audio guide this is common in the catholic church!
After the Duomo we ascended the 414 steps to the top of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower - although Giotto died before it was finished) for a view of Florence. The stairs were very narrow and steep, towards the top it gets worse and becomes a spiral staircase - my stomach turned backflips - I'm not so good with steep staircases. The Campanile was obviously built with tired legs and chubby priests in mind, as there are about 4 levels where you can stop and sit before tackling the next set of stairs. The view from the top was brilliant and worth the climb, you could see over Florence and the hill top villas. Postcard perfect! Back down the stairs to a well deserved pasta lunch!
In the afternoon we visited the Baptistery, which sits out the front of the Duomo. It's much older than the Duomo and probably based on the Pantheon in Rome, as it's the same shape (octagonal with a dome and oculus). Like the Pantheon it was once a pagan temple. It's incredibly ornate inside with mosaics (or frescos hard to tell) in gold on the ceiling. You could see the influence of the various empires that came through this area.
Yesterday we caught a bus out to Siena, which challenges our claim to the "sunburnt country" - it was hotter than Florence, even the buildings looked sunburnt! It was beautiful though, all glued onto a mountain, with pretty cobbled streets, arches, tunnels and one magnificent Duomo. More stunning than the Duomo in Florence. The ceiling is dark blue with little gold stars and there are so many sculptures, including Donatello's St John the baptist and Pisano's pulpit. We also visited St Catherine's Chapel in the San Domenico Church, which is the last resting place of St Catherine's head (and finger), both of which are on display!!!
Today we headed out early to join the queue at the Uffizi Gallery. Not nearly as long as the Sistine Chapel queue and we were inside within 45 minutes or so. The most stunning rooms are the Giotto (and medieval rooms) and the Botticelli rooms. Saw both the "Birth of Venus" (which actually depicts Venus arriving at Cyprus) and the "Primavera", though I thought the nicest painting was his Annunciation, painted towards the end of his life.
Tomorrow we head for Riomaggiore at the Cinque Terre, so it's by for now, will post some photos later!
Lucy.
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