“See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream.” ~ Ray Bradbury

Today we traveled to Florence which is known in Italy as Firenze.  I was excited to go to go to Florence for many reasons but one was that my aunt who was also my godmother was named Florence, so I hoped that it would be a remarkable city to see.   We had a fantastic tour guide named Rosella who was knowledgeable and kept us moving but not overwhelmed in a city with so much to see and do. The city of Florence met and exceeded my expectations.  Our first tour was in the Uffizi Gallery.  It was at this point I realized why I should have studied harder in college in the art history class that I took.  It contains one of the largest and oldest art collections in the world.  There were masterpieces by Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael (the artists, not the teenage mutant ninja turtles) and Caravaggio.

Their works are not in the Uffizi Gallery

After our gallery tour we walked through the city center.  Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. Their are artisans and almost every kind of store imaginable.

We had a delicious (deliciouso) lunch at Ciro and Sons where everyone enjoyed fresh pasta or pizza (even gluten free pizza and pasta for those among us with Celiac disease) or a glass of vino (which is surprising for us to be able to consume more wine)! We sat at a sidewalk table and enjoyed our lunch listening to the hustle and bustle of Florence.

Now that’s a good pizza pie!

We walked toward the Academia Museum to view The David by Michelangelo and then the Duomo, which stands over the city with its magnificent Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.  Skip allowed us almost ten minutes of shopping as we walked through the leather district where merchants displayed all of their wares tempting everyone but the men to make a purchase.

Below these are some of Michelangelo’s unfinished works on display.

David by Michelangelo

After a brief stop to see the city from an incredible vantage point (and an entertaining verbal exchange between our driver and an obnoxious bus driver we headed back to the farmhouse.  I wish I understood the exchange of words, it may have sounded like some of the swear words my Italian grandparents taught me!

The eight heartiest of our group headed to one of the most delicious dinners of the trip so far and that is a difficult bar to beat!  The La Locanda Nel Loggiato restaurant enchanted us with an only two course meal (thank god) where we feasted on fresh pasta with wild boar sauce, fresh grilled pork, sardines and caprese salad with fresh made mozzarella, and wine!!

It was again another day for the memory books.  Florence was as captivating as my memory of my Aunt Florence.

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~ Andre Gide