We arrived in Florence and had a very long excursion planned. Shawn wasn’t feeling very well yet but we decided to go anyway.
We arrived in the square of Florence near Basilica of Santa Croce which we would tour later in the day. We stopped for a coffee and pastry in the shadow of the Basilica before moving on to our walking tour of the city. We sat on the steps and watched the street peddlers try to sell unnecessary things to people passing by. They were not as aggressive as we had remembered them from last time. In front of the church was a temporary soccer field that was being set up for a yearly game called Historic Soccer which is played between the 4 districts of Florence and is more like a cross between Rugby and a fistfight than a soccer game.
Basilica of Sante Croce
After we had coffee we walked over to the very famous cathedral Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore which dominates the main square of Florence. This is a stunning church but there are always loads of people in and around the square.
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore
It was a holiday in Italy called republic day so there was a large crowd by the municipal building where a ceremony was being held in the Piazza Della Signoria. We went to look at the Replica of the Statue of David there.
Replica of David
After the walk through florence we went to see the River and a bridge that the Medici family built to cross the river from their offices to their homes outside of the city.
Bridge between the Meidici offices and homes.
We then walked back to the Basilica of Sante Croce to tour the church which was beautiful.
Basilica of Sante Croce
Basilica of Sante Croce
Basilica of Sante Croce
After Florence we reboarded the bus and headed to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. We walked into the square and found not only the tower but several other beautiful buildings. A cathedral, a baptistry, a bell tower (the leaning tower) and the cemetery.
Bell tower
The Cathedral
Bell Tower
Conrad holding up the Bell tower
Bell tower
Cathedral with the baptistry to the left
Baptistry
We then found a small outdoor cafe near the Square – called the Square of miracles, the entire square is a UNESCO world Heritage site. We sat and had a coffee and a coke and watched the world go by until it was time to head back to the busses.