After a couple of days travelling to various cities outside of Florence, we decided to stick within the city and catch up on some of the other sights we had bypassed during the previous three days. First on the block was the Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest art museums in the world and home to a huge collection of Rennaissance artwork and sculptures. One of Florence's main attractions, this museum also consistently commands two to three hour lines. Our aim was to arrive before the 8:30 opening to minimize our wait, just like we did with Galleria dell'Academia. Unfortunately, weariness from the previous days yielded a later wake-up time, and 8:30 ended up being closer to the time we left our hostel.

The Uffizi Gallery is located just north of the Arno River. Our walk took us past the Duomo and down through Piazza della Signoria, which featured its own prominent display of statues and sculptures, including a replica of the Statue of David, which replaced the original after it was moved indoors.

Much to our consternation, by the time we had arrived (nearly half an hour after the museum opened its doors), massive lines had already built up, full of eager art fans and tourists following the suggestions of their guide books. Never eager to wait in any long line, I issued a mental groan and walked to the end. Meanwhile, Andrea and Jill walked back to the hostel, because Andrea had forgotten her ATM card, which she would need to withdraw cash later in the day. An hour and a half later, with Jill and Andrea back in line, we finally entered the Uffizi.

The two story U-shaped Uffizi Gallery actually had a plethora of exhibits scattered throughout endless rooms, from masters like Leonardo di Vinci (The Annunciation) and Sandro Botticelli (The Birth of Venus). The many paintings were absolutely marvelous (Jill was quite pleased, being a relatively big art buff), but security was rather strict about photography of any sort, and quick to enforce it. Still, we managed a good hour or two inside and easily could have spent longer if we didn't have anything else we wanted to do. Hunger, however, had other plans, and we left after noontime to find some food to eat.

Once properly satiated, our next stop was the Duomo. I was intersted in whether the interior was as grand as the exterior, and all three of us wanted to climb the bell tower.

Suffice to say that the interior was not as comparatively grand as some of the other cathedrals I had visited. Admission was free, and the inside space was essentially the apse, nave, and transept. No side arcades delineated from the main space, and the articulation of ornamental objects didn't quite seem as rich. It seemed that the main attraction here was a subterranean level that contained ruins of the original church built on the same site. Upon noticing that it required a six euro admission fee, we decided to climb the bell tower instead, so that we could enjoy some fantastic views of the city, even if it was drizzly.

On a sunny day, the view at the top after over 460 steps up narrow corridors enclosed by thick, weighty stone walls would have been absolutely spectacular. But even on this somewhat colorless day, looking down upon the tight, medieval streets of Florence, the textured clay roofs of the city buildings, and shady, rolling hills in the background produced a quaint, visually romantic thrill that all three of us greatly enjoyed, once we had recovered our breaths. North of the river, we spotted the train station, several prominent churches, a few famous palaces, and the general urban density of any medieval city.  To the south, development seemed to open up a little more, giving way to hillside parks and villas and more suburbian openness.

Looking around the city, I felt slightly bummed that we weren't around to experience Florence under more ideal weather conditions.  Yet, I realized that if I could notice the sense of beauty even on days like this, then Florence was truly a magnificent place. And it was true... with each passing day spent just walking around the city--even if it was just to reach the bus or train station from our hostel--I was becoming more and more enamored, and more and more convinced that my original assessment of Florence, comparing it to Bordeaux, only several hundred times more charming, was correct.

We stayed and admired the view for about fifteen minutes before some distant thunder made me question the decision to be on a high tower in potentially turbulent weather. With mid-afternoon creeping up on us, we made our way back down the stairs, squeezing by opposite visitors climbing up the tower, and finally found ourselves back at ground level.

There were three simultaneous sighs of establishment. In less than a week, we had climbed a 551 step dome, hiked up and down countless seaside steps, and conquered a 460+ step bell tower. Who says vacations are all splurge and no exercise?

The rest of the day was spent walking around to several sites on our list, just so we could see them. We passed by the church of Santa Croce and Sant Ambroggio, and wandered through the less tourist-friendly neighborhoods of the city, enjoying as much of Florence as we could despite the constant drizzle. The one target we bypassed was the Boboli Gardens, which didn't seem appealing given the preciptiation. Plus it was all the way on the other side of the river, and none of us felt too inclined to walk that far down again once we had made our way northeastward.

There was a rest somewhere in the late afternoon to allow the girls to do some errands. But in the evening, as we stepped out of our hostel to head out for dinner, the sun finally made a spectacular appearance low in the west. Magic hour revealed a shimmering glow on the buildings, and gave us a glimpse of a whole new character Florence could take on under different weather conditions. I confirmed to myself then and there: someday, I would return to Tuscany--preferably with better weather!

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These next few photos are actually from our last evening in Florence, following our trip to Greve-in-Chianti. I post them here because they, of course, depict Florence. Consider it my own weird way of organizing things.

Twilight yielded a very colorful and vibrant sky, with the sun playing off the clouds in vivid hues of blue and violent and magenta. This lent an interesting flair to the Florence Duomo as we passed by. It looked downright rosy, almost as if the stone facade was alive! I had never seen any cathedral under such conditions, and I could help but feel an ethereal beauty cast around this wonderful piece of architecture.

Our walk took us down toward the Arnos River, through the courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery. While I continued on toward the Arno River to wait for the skies to dim and offer a better backdrop for a night photo of the Ponte Vecchio, Jill and Andrea were freezed by a most fantastic street performer. A violinist with incredible skill had set up camp under one of the arcades and was using the excellent natural acoustics to broadcast a hauntingly beautiful stream of classical compositions to a large group of captivated bystanders. To say this man was good would be an understatement; he sounded as good some professionals I've heard, weaving through a variety of styles ranging from slow waltz patterns to energetic climax pieces.

Later, after I had returned from taking the below frame of the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio, I had to wonder: if a street performer could be this good, imagine the musicians who actually make it into the European philharmonics!  Imagine the competition and the sweat and toil these musicians must undergo to establish themselves as among the absolute best. It gave me a brand new view on the world of music, and an even increased measure of respect for these talented harmonic artists.

Dinner ended up being late on our last night, in part because we couldn't tear ourselves away from the violinist. And afterwards, there was a flutist who followed who was quite skilled before, warming up to frantic, bumble bee beat that many might play more as an actual showpiece.

No doubt about it; there are some talented people in this city.

Dinner came at an Italian deli run by Indian people, which explained why one of the pasta dishes had curry in it (it was actually quite good, though). Afterwards, we headed back home, passing the Duomo at night just as some religious procession apparently in honor of disabled patients or people with mental disorders emerged from the cathedral and proceeded with an eerie candlelight procession down Via del Corso (apparently, Florence has one too, and it's also a major street). We could only watch on in awed silence as the parade passed us by. We couldn't quite understand it, and we weren't sure of the significance, but it was a powerful religious moment. Even Jill and Andrea, who are not really religious, could attest to that.

Florence. A city of beauty... of majesty... of art... of tradition. We felt much safer during our five nights here than in Rome, and whether that was real or just mental, it still placed Florence at the top of our list of favorite cities. There's a serenity that is so welcoming that it becomes refreshing. A city that thrives in the 21st century, yet still retains its decadent medieval heritage.

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For more photos of Florence, check out my Facebook photo albums:
FLORENCE