Firenze, Pisa, Roma, Paris, & Reims (Part 1)

My first big holiday break...(March 31-April 9)

Julie(USA) and I began our 10 day adventure in Florence. 

Innsbruck to Bologna, Bologna to Florence...

Our bed&breakfast was just on the other side of the river. Il Magnifico B&B. Great accommodation...

thanks Amber ;)

We ate in La Casalinga...we waited with other tourists for over an hour to be seated- locals continued walking in and were seated first. Worth the wait...

Walked the city after dinner... saw one of the many copies of Michelangelo's David..

Time was limited so we got an early start...ONE full day in Florence. Crossed the river...ah, the Ponte Vecchio... means 'old bridge'.. it is the oldest bridge in Florence. Looks like a postcard...

 Went to Uffizi to see Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera"...so stunning!

The city is beautiful... statues, fountains, and piazza's... these are the Loggia dei Lanzi statues...Hercules Beating the Centaur Nessus to the left.

Fountain of Neptune to the right...

Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise replica...

Ah, duomos, cathedrals, and calzones... gelato, pizza by the pound. The joys of Italia! 

Took a walk through the beautiful Boboli Gardens. Had a mini nap under a tree..

 Loved this-Buontalenti’s Grotto...

 Went into Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore...

 --Duomo and Me. couldn't climb it because it was Palm Sunday... so we climbed Giotto's Tower to get a good view...  

 

Giotto's Tower Campanile, the bell tower, green pink & white tuscan marble- 1359...below

The B&B recommended that we visit Michelangelo's David in Academia around 5PM so that we have less of a wait time. She was right. Unbelievable to see in person...I had to sneak a picture of his tush! 

 

--The Basilica di Sante Croce/ tomb of Michelangelo, Galileo.. Star of David added by architect.

Time for dinner and a visit to the local grocery store...the salumerie- local Italian grocery store :) 

 Hiked up to Piazzale Michaelangelo Tuscan wine, and sunset over the city of Florence...

Had to end this beautiful day with some gelato...

Florence-SUCCESS 

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3 cities in 1 day... Florence to Pisa...Good morning Pisa:) then Pisa to Rome...

 Ran to the train station in Florence with our luggage on the cobblestone streets- definitely wish I had wheels on my duffel..Just made it and boarded the bus to Pisa airport...bus to the train station...put our bags in storage... and took a bus to Piazza Duomo to see the Leaning Tower...

A little creativity goes a long way...

Leaning on the Leaning Tower of Pisa...

 

The Cathedral and the Baptistery are not standing straight either. There are several leaning building and bell towers in Pisa because of the unsteady ground water. 

 For 15 Euro, we climbed the tower...everyone stumbles into the doorway because it's uneven. You can feel pressure as you walk up the tower at an angle...

 Looked down at the Field of Miracles...

 Walked the streets afterwards. The town felt a little Caribbean-like with the simple, colorful buildings. Took the bus back to the train station and boarded the train to Roma...now it feels like I'm in Brooklyn.
It always makes me laugh when the train pulls in and I have an assigned car to run to... I try to strategically position myself, but it never works and I still have to run through crowds with my heavy duffel bag to get to the right train car...funny struggle :)

Pisa-SUCCESS 

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Roma, Paris & Reims to be continued in next post...
followed by more trips to Siena, San Gimignano, Florence again, Sorrento, Pompeii, Ercolano, Capri, Amalfi, Positano, Roma again, Salzburg, Dachau, & life in Innsbruck...