Our morning began with a fantastic breakfast in the courtyard of our villa hotel.
Cappuccino, croissants, cream filled pastries, yogurt, fresh fruit, and orange juice is the perfect start to any day.
After breakfast, we set off for Florence.To avoid a repeat of yesterday's struggle finding parking in Sien, I researched where to park in Firenze and learned that one can park in the large parking lot of a Coop supermarket on the tram line.
For 1.20 € per ticket, you can ride the tram to the main train station. From there, it's only a ten minute walk to the center of town!
Once I got my bearings, we wandered into town towards the duomo, the cathedral which was very similar to the one we saw in Siena. It seems that marble was an abundant building material back in the day.
The waiting lines to visit the interior were crazy long, so we opted for the free exterior tour. It's quite impressive and, I'm sure, it's even more spectacular inside. This side was recently cleaned and much more impressive than the other side.
Florence is the birth place of Renaissance art, and there is art everywhere. Here, for example, in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio are reproductions of Donatello's Lion of Florence and Michelangelo's David among other great masterpieces.
Further towards the river is the famous Ponte Vecchio which is today a tourist trap of jewelry stores.
There were people everywhere from all across the globe, but not many were shopping.
Once across the bridge, we arrived at the Palazzo Pitti where we walked the Boboli Gardens.
Terraced (read lots of steps) behind the palace, these Italian gardens were designed by Tribolo in the 16th century.
There were some great panoramic views of Florence,
especially of the dome and bell tower of the duomo,
but for the most part they were devoid of flowers and greenery save a few trees.
I guess I prefer the symmetrical gardens of Versailles or the Tuileries in Paris designed by Louis XIV's gardener, André le Nôtre.
It was time to make our way back to the train station to catch the tram back to our car. One street we turned on struck me with all of the scooters tightly lined up. Most definitely the preferred mode of transportation for the Firenziens.
I, unfortunately, did not take any pictures of our shopping experience in the Italian supermarket. Suffice it to say it was an experience, one that gave us a filling picnic lunch that we enjoyed in our room at Villa Sonnino.
Followed by enjoying a gelato while watching the sunset over San Miniato.
Tomorrow, we head north to Venice!
Location:Tuscany, Italy
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