Europe Trip (Florence, Italy)

11th April 2011
We had a wonderful owner of the guesthouse we were staying in Florence. His name is Mr. Riccardo. He is a funny and friendly man. He served us breakfast and gave some guidance and recommendation to the places in Florence.


Mr. Riccardo, owner of the guesthouse.

Florence is a place that has many historical buildings. Everywhere we went, we could see tall beautiful landmarks. One of the famous ones we saw is Basilica of San Lorenzo [link]. It is one of the largest churches in Florence.


Part of Basilica of San Lorenzo

Market around the area

After that, we went to the principal Franciscan church in Florence. It is called Basilica of Santa Croce [link]. It is huge! We did not enter the church though because we were lacking of time and there were many people lining up. We bought a few paintings in front of the church. Next was Republic Square (Piazza della Repubblica). It is just a city square nearby.

Basilica of Santa Croce

Republic Square

Saw an artist on the way.

Florence is also well-known for its leather products. So, it is recommended to get some there as you will not find any cheaper yet good leather items anywhere else, at least not in Malaysia. I regretted not buying the leather sling bag I saw at the market!



Some of the stalls here selling leather items

We reached another landmark called the Old Palace (Palazzo Vecchio) [link]. It is the town hall of the city and is one of the most significant public places in Italy. There are many statues in front, around and in the palace itself including the copy of Michelangelo's David statue.


Old Palace

Statues in front of the palace

Michelangelo's David statue

Hercules and Cacus

Inside the palace.



We followed the map and walked towards the Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio). This bridge is a rather unique bridge. It is a medieval stone closed arch bridge. On the bridge are lined with shops that mostly sell gold.

Saw this moving statue (its a human!) on the way.

The Old Bridge

Love padlocks along the corridor to the bridge. <3

On the bridge

Gold. Gold Everywhere.

On the bridge and this is the Arno River

After the bridge, we walked towards Pitti Palace (Palazzo Pitti) [link]. It is a huge mainly Renaissance palace. Since that week was a Cultural Week, there was free entrance to the palace! I could not take photos of the deeper part of the palace as it was not permitted. Behind of the palace was the Boboli Gardens which has many sculptures.

Pitti Palace

Inside the palace. There are deeper parts of the palace that are well-decorated but no picture was allowed.

The courtyard where you can see a fountain on top.

Boboli Gardens

We had to head back to our hotel for our luggage. We only planned for a night in Florence which was a waste as there were just so many other places to visit.

Awesome!

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