I decided to start the day at a different breakfast spot, you know, for variety. This was some tiny storefront right by the duomo, across the street from Eataly. I walked in because I saw the cornettos in the display case. Cornettos are Italian croissants filled with custard cream, two of my favorite things, so it was a no-brainer. Also got a latte to go with it. Remember to order "caffe latte" in Italy, if you just ordered latte, you'd get milk only!
In hindsight I should have known to avoid tiny storefronts. The cornetto was dried out and the latte was weak. Lesson learned.
I'd planned to spend this morning visiting the other parts of the duomo complex included in the admission ticket. Unfortunately, plenty of other people had the same idea, so I stood in line for an hour waiting to climb the dome. But with a beautiful violinist serenading me the whole time, it wasn't too unbearable.
The dome was a much more pleasant climb than the bell tower. The bell tower narrowed so much towards the top there's only room for two people on their sides, and there was only one way up and down. Makes for some very close encounters with strangers. Thankfully there's none of that in the dome.
There's also more to see during the dome climb, most notably was the up close and personal view of the gorgeous ceiling artwork, some of which were so gory it sent a shiver down my spine (this is saying a lot, given how much of a seasoned horror movie fan I am). The eerie organ music playing in the background added to the atmosphere.
The duomo dome, built by Filippo Brunelleschi, remains the largest brick dome in the world, since its completion in 1436.
It also offers a fantastic view of the church below.
Ladies & gentlemen, I present you: blue skies and more red roofs. It was breath-taking~
I didn't stay for very long on the top, considering I still have a long day of sightseeing ahead. On the way down, there were a few exhibits of the original tools used to build the dome.
Right behind the duomo was the museum. Unfortunately most of it was closed for renovations. Only the original bronze doors of the baptistery and Michaelangelo's Deposition (aka the Florence Pieta) were on display.
This pieta was one of two final works by Michaelangelo, and was originally intended to decorate his tomb. The hooded figure was rumored to be his self-portrait.
But Michaelangelo abandoned this after working on it for 8 years, all because he found an imperfection in the marble. So some other artist completed the female figure on the left.
I have to admit: I was more interested in the gift shop. There was a small model of duomo on display.
And cute, colorful scooters.
The second half of my day was dedicated to the Oltrarno, which means the other side of the Arno river. On my way there, I finally got to peek into the Orsanmichele church near Piazza Repubblica. I saw perhaps the tiniest organ I'd ever seen...is this thing actually portable?
Also found one small mass of love locks in one corner of the Ponte Vecchio. I've heard these are being frowned upon and removed all over Europe (It even caused a Parisian bridge to partially collapse recently).
Ponte Vecchio is known for its gold stores...which I didn't care much for. Hence the lack of pictures.
Careful where you get your gelato. Yes stores are everywhere, but many of them have these terribly vivid colors, which are a sure sign of food coloring.
Right across the Arno river was the second stop of today's itinerary: Palazzo Pitti. It's a humongous palace with several interesting exhibitions, as well as two big gardens. The admission ticket is valid for two days, but I didn't have that much time, so I had to choose. There are 3 different types of tickets, each offering admission to various combinations of the attractions within the palace. I chose option two, which includes the Boboli Gardens, costume museum and porcelain gallery.
I spent quite a bit of time just taking pictures of the palace interior. That was luxurious enough!
The costume museum was quite fun, there were quite a few pieces of interesting outfits and lots of hats, some more whimsical than functional. I snapped a picture before being told no pictures allowed. Oops.
But I didn't want to spend too much time indoors. Weather in Florence was so gorgeous I wanted to soak up all the Tuscan sun I could. So off to the garden I went. After seeing a map of the garden, I groaned, wondering if I'd ever make it to the other end...
Weird tree in the garden, the branches grow upwards!
At the top of this majestic staircase was the porcelain gallery, which was a bit of a yawn for me.
I was much more impressed with the flowers outside the gallery.
I also ran into two female students from the US here, who asked me to answer some questions and let them snap some pictures. One of the girls agreed to take a few with my camera. Turns out she uses the same camera! So I finally have some decent photos...
These green tunnels just make me want to lie down and nap. But as you can see, someone already grabbed the best spot...
On my way out of the gardens, I accidentally ended up outside the grottos (manmade caves). I'd wanted to visit these on one of the hourly guided tours, but couldn't make it in time, so a few pictures snapped from the outside would have to do. There were some very intricate sculptures inside and out.
Strolled through the storefronts on the main street a bit, and look what I found? A huge store filled with ceramics!!! Oh I wanted to buy every single piece but my luggage wouldn't fit :(
A quick peek at the map tells me Piazza Michaelangelo is on the same side of the river. This being THE place for sunset views of the city, I had to go check it out. Little did I know how far the walk was! Take the bus if you decide to go, don't underestimate the scale of the map like I did...
I got there around 7, sunset was at 8:40. Oh well, I'll just wait it out while munching on my porchetta sandwich (I wavered a bit between that and gelato, so glad I got the porchetta). While waiting, a Chinese couple showed up taking wedding pictures. At first I was a bit envious, but then I overheard the guy insisting the girl lie down on the narrow rail for some pics, despite her continued plea about how scary it seemed. Suddenly I felt kind of sorry for her...Guys, you gotta learn to respect ur gal's wishes!
Anyhow, my attention quickly turned to the lovely view. Yes it was a long wait, and it was cold and windy. But with the above picture, it was all worth it!
Saw this little card in a window on my way down. So simple yet so cute!
These shutters seem to be a Florence specialty. Didn't see any more of them in Milan or Rome.
It too me forever to cross the river, because I kept on stopping to snap pictures. Another guy was doing the same thing, so I secretly decided to race him to the other end...I lost.
But with pictures like this? I felt like a winner :)
I liked ponte Veccio much better after dark. With the crowd gone, and the shops closed, it was infinitely more romantic~
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