After a morning in Pisa, it's time to rush leisurely drive down to Florence. Firenze. I always wonder why it has to be called Florence when it is actually Firenze in Italian and is perfectly spellable and readable. Same for Roma, Venezia, Italia..
Florence is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance when the city flourished in much art and architecture. Many great people were born here, including...
The Ninja Turtles..
Florence is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance when the city flourished in much art and architecture. Many great people were born here, including...
The Ninja Turtles..
- Leonardo da Vinci, polymath, famous for his Mona Lisa and other paintings, inventions, and scientific experiments.
- Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, also famous for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David.
- Donatello, sculptor.
- Raphael, painter.
- Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher.
- Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, and a noted statistician.
- Salvatore Ferragamo, "shoemaker to the stars".
- Roberto Cavalli, fashion designer.
- Guccio Gucci, founder of the Gucci label.
Driving from Pisa to Firenze
Tuscan architecture
Tuscan trees
Driving in Florence is.. an adventure by its own. The roads are so narrow that pedestrians spill onto the road. Well, actually there are many roads that we don't even know if they are for pedestrians or cars. There are people Everywhere. Furthermore, they have these rules that we cannot go into certain roads at certain times.. And we are not even supposed to drive into the Historic Center of Florence at all.
The good news is that our hotel is damn centrally located, steps away from the famous Duomo. The bad news is obviously that we gotta drive into the Historic Center. We made prior arrangements with the hotel who said that they would liaise with the police ahead of time to allow us to drive in.
GPS is of little use in Italy. On top of the people on the roads, they were mostly 1 way roads and it was so impossible to reach our hotel. We spent about 40 minutes navigating around, finding ourselves being led AWAY from the hotel via the one way roads each time. Now I understand why the hotel said 'GPS will not work' and gave specific directions on where to turn at which corner.
The good news is that our hotel is damn centrally located, steps away from the famous Duomo. The bad news is obviously that we gotta drive into the Historic Center. We made prior arrangements with the hotel who said that they would liaise with the police ahead of time to allow us to drive in.
GPS is of little use in Italy. On top of the people on the roads, they were mostly 1 way roads and it was so impossible to reach our hotel. We spent about 40 minutes navigating around, finding ourselves being led AWAY from the hotel via the one way roads each time. Now I understand why the hotel said 'GPS will not work' and gave specific directions on where to turn at which corner.
There are roads like these which says 'Area Pedonale' and has other various signs which I suppose mean we are not supposed to drive through it?
And signs like these which make you wonder if you're not supposed to drive in that lane anymore, or whether that is merely graffiti?
As you can see, despite the people on the roads, cars can just drive through anyway. I don't know if they are allowed to, but they do.
This is how driving through Florence looks like. Loads of people looking like they own the road. And roads which do not look like they were meant for cars.
We finally found our hotel, Hotel Maxim after about 40 minutes? See the number of people we were driving through?!! Thats me with our Ford C-Max.
Eek. No more driving in Florence for me.
Hotel Maxim (2 stars) was fully booked but lucky for us they arranged for us to stay in Hotel Axial on another floor which was 3 stars! A free upgrade! They arranged for the garage to drive our car away at a fee, which we GLADLY paid and handed our keys over. Let's minimize driving in Florence as much as possible.
I am superbly proud for finding a decently priced hotel at such a fantastic location. Steps away from all the attractions, we could walk everywhere. It was also above the Disney Store where we promptly picked up a Firenze Minnie Mouse tee for Joy.
Even Goofy is in a Florentine mood as he dances in front of the Duomo.
First things first. Lunch. My spaghetti was ok while his pork chop was damn thin and pathetic! Haha! I clearly remember paying 3.50 euros per cup of coke and 2 euros per person for cover charge. Yeah, 2 euros just to sit there and eat crappy pork chops. Well. 3.50 euros for a coke is better than paying 6 euros for water right?
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
Otherwise known as the Duomo. About the only thing important in Florence.
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
Otherwise known as the Duomo. About the only thing important in Florence.
need. a. wide. angle. lens. (or a full frame body =D)
this doggie was not impressed by pb's photo taking stances
Ok! enough of churches! Time to walk around.
Love their gelato displays. Hmm, would be good if I had a cone in my hands right now :( For the record, they taste the same as the ones in Singapore anyway. Ha.
Won't lao4 hong1 one!
3 euro Red Bull fix makes a pb less grouchy. Kinda like what a cappucino does to me.
Woo.. nekkid statue. must be somewhere important.
So this is Palazzo Vecchio.. It's a square that houses some statues.. and it's Free! :D
Oscar. very adorable!
All very violent leh.
"David di Michelangelo". Obviously a replica. After the Mona Lisa crowd, we weren't about to go into the Uffizi to catch a glimpse of the real thing. Anyways, the actual statue used to be placed here til 1504 when it was moved into the Uffizi Gallery.
This street performer was going around irritating innocent passers by. He even dragged that girl, carried her and placed her in some other strangers' laps.
Uffizi Gallery
Quite a lot of police/security personel in the city.
We reached the River Arno and were amused by these people playing soccer here! Note the little boat in the river.. Each time the ball flies into the river, they row the boat out to get it!
Ponte Vecchio. Unlike the other bridges in Florence, this bridge survived WWII. "In 1944, the retreating Germans decided to blow up the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, thus making it difficult for the British troops to cross. However, at the last moment Hitler ordered that the Ponte Vecchio must not be blown up, as it was too beautiful." Wah. Didn't know that Hitler appreciated architecture so much.
The first water fountain we see. I only know that the ones in Rome can be drunk from, not sure about Florence so we just washed our hands. Not sure why they don't bother with the turning off of their taps. I feel disturbed seeing clean water running 24/7.
There are these peddlers selling art pieces. They keep picking them up, walking to a new place and then laying them out again. Wonder if it's cos of the police.. However there are so many of them appearing throughout the bridge that it doesn't seem that the police are actually catching them.
Selling shades
more gelato
We saw a little crowd forming around this statue and so we shuffled over to check it out. Fontana Del Porcellino Il Porcellino (Italian "piglet") is the local Florentine name for the bronze fountain of a boar. We stood around, observing what people were doing. You're supposed to put a coin in its mouth, and let it fall. If it falls through the grating, it's good luck/you will return to Florence some day/your wish comes true/insert any nonsense belief you want. I don't think I need to return to Florence and neither did I want to part with my Euros. Not even coins, ha!
This talented street artist created the most beautiful drawings on the ground.
hor.. kena summon
Last glimpse of the Duomo before heading back to rest.
There was a PI in our hotel building?! I thought these were hush hush places you wouldn't wanna be seen at if you were utilizing their services.. How could they announce their location this way.
Our cheap pizza and beer dinner.
Our 3* room. Open that window and it faces a busy street full of tourists.
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