Asheville Wedding and Portrait Photography - Tuesday's Frog Photography: Firenze

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Firenze

Our day in Florence began with a visit to the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore. I’d visited this duomo seven years ago on my first trip to Florence, and I wanted to be sure to see it again with Mark (and take better photos this time!). After exploring the cathedral we decided to climb the 463 steps to the top of the cupola (that’s 463 – one way!). At times climbing these narrow, tightly enclosed stairs can make you feel as if you’re in an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” as you go round and round and round without an end in sight. But although the climb is tiring, the view from the top is definitely worth the trip, as you can see red rooftops for miles and the mountains in the distance. The climb also provides an excellent bird’s eye view of the painted ceiling of the church as well as the large glass-stained windows.

After returning to ground level we decided to take a walk to the flea market near by. What fun to bargain with vendors selling their wares – except they didn’t seem to be that willing to bargain on this day. So we didn’t leave with that many purchases, though we did enjoy the colorful stalls stacked high with scarves, all sorts of leather goods, watches, stationery, and more.

We do have to confess that we didn’t make it to see Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria Dell’Accademia. There’s just something about climbing 463 stairs that makes you a little bit tired for the rest of the day. But we did walk over to the bridges that cross the Arno River, and window shop at the many gold and silver jewelry stores that line the Ponte Vecchio, the most famous bridge in Florence. Apparently there’s a tradition where couples secure a lock around the metal grates on the bridge and throw the keys into the river, thereby “locking” their love for years to come. Since we did not realize that this was the reason for the locks until later, we did not “lock” our love, but I think we’ll still be okay.

We finished the evening by eating at our very favorite restaurant on the whole trip, La Grotta di Leo. We dined on Florentine steaks, yummy risottos, and fresh garden salads for two of our nights in Florence. We were feeling a little silly for eating at the same place twice until we met a couple of sisters from Scotland who were eating there for their third night in a row! The restaurant even has its own website, with directions in case you’re planning a trip to Florence soon: lagrottadileo After enjoying a few cups of hot chocolate (made with dark chocolate) at the bar in the hotel it was off to bed in order to recover from our early morning climb and also to prepare for our trip to Pisa and Siena the next day.

Labels: Italy

posted by Joanna Bolick @ 9:01 PM

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