Thirsty?

If you're in Italy, don't worry about paying ridiculously high prices for bottled water. Instead, bring your own bottle and fill up at the one of many ANY fountain in Italy. Because yes, they are all (mostly...) safe drinking water. 

If it's in the Vatican, does that automatically make it holy water?

Please be prepared for bottle leakage. I suggest having bandaid's on hand. Not terribly effective, but you can still pretend. 

Of course, not ALL fountains in Italy are drinking water.... 

Duomygod!

Pretty much everything in Florence is a famous piece of art and/or some kind of symbolic structure. But whenever I think back to the Tuscan city, the image that always comes to mind is the Duomo. 

I mean, guys, the thing is massive! And very photogenic. Of course, I always knew it as the home of Brunelleschi's dome, which was one of my favorite stories when learning about the Renaissance. Basically, to decide on who should be the architect of the of the dome, the powers that be said the man to get an egg to stand on it's end could do it. So Brunelleschi, being a 15th century Italian smart ass, flattened the end of his egg so that it stood up easily, thus securing himself the job. My kind of guy! 

One of my favorite parts of the Duomo was climbing up to the top of the dome. At one viewing level, you actually walk around the inside base of the dome, up close and personal to ornate painting that covers it. The view from the top wasn't that bad either! 

Even though we only spent one afternoon actually exploring the Duomo, it was pretty much a constant of our trip to Florence. We walked by it more times than I can count and snapped pictures of it from every other museum/church/building we visited! A definite Florence must-see/can't-miss! 

Walking and Waiting

If there is anything I can promise you about a trip to Florence, it is the following:

1. you will walk a lot

2. you will wait in a lot of lines

3. you will see some of the most amazing art in existence

On our first day in Florence, Matthew and I didn't have a real plan. Instead, we checked into our hostel and headed into the city, leaving the rest up to fate (and our map). When the first site we ran across was the famous Ponte Vecchio, we figured our plan would be successful enough.

In the end, we managed to cover quite a lot of ground and saw some really awesome sites/art

Of course, when you running around a city with no real plan of action, you end up doing a lot of unnecessary walking. And I can't lie, by the end of the day, we were pretty dead. 

The next day and a half were a little more structured. They involved much less walking and way more standing in line. To get into the Accademia di Belle Arti to see Michelangelo's David, we spent almost 3 hours in line. The line to the Uffizi Museum lasted around 2 hours. But, you know what, getting to see pieces like Botticelli's Birth of Venus made all the waiting pretty worth while.

So you're not technically supposed to take pictures in the Uffizi, but I figured that was more of a suggestion than a rule...

Oh my, what big hands you've got there

today Matthew and I waited in line for 2.5 hours to see Michaelangelo's David. During our wait we made friends with people from Seattle, Spain, and Ireland. And although today was not nearly as hot as yesterday, I'm still glad we got to spend our 2.5 hour line waiting in the shade!

Once we got into the museum they tried to tell me no photography was allowed. But luckily, I'm the kind of person that is ten times more likely to take a picture if you tell me I can't.

What's Italy without some pizza?

Guess what! Two exciting things today:

1. I'm guest posting over on Yes, Teacher Crafts today while Sarah takes some blogging maternity leave! If you like reading about how living on Bavaria Franken last year fulfilled all my hopes and dreams about Germany you should go check it out!

2. Matthew Boyle and I made it to Florence this morning! We went into town for a bit to get out bearings while we were waiting for check in. We saw a few of the big sites, but my favorite so far was the adorable little pizza shop we stopped at for lunch! I've already suggested we return tomorrow (there were so many more pizzas I wanted to try!). We're back at the hotel now - Matthew napping, and me feeding my internet addiction. Then later it's off to lots of art museums!

Till then, marvel at my new favorite pizza place ever in all its adorableness.