Into the Heart of Tuscany

We were beginning to think that "Italian Countryside" was an oxymoron, given all the traffic with its snarls, high-speed auto-routes (including tolls) and other challenges.  But finally when you drive south of Bologna, you enter the Apennines, the traffic thins out a bit and you finally start to see what everyone (eat/pray/love) has been talking about. 
It didn't take us long to arrive in Firenze at our lovely villa 4.5 km from the city centre, arriving before noon.  Here is the view of the Arno River from our window and what the room looks like at the Hotel Mulino di Firenze.

Cars (except those of residents and deliveries) are not allowed in Firenze so we used the hotel bicycles to get into town and then walked around (a lot in the heat!) just on the exterior, not going in anywhere.  Line-ups were very long and we have 4 nights here.


This bridge, called Ponte Vecchio, was built in 1345 and mainly houses jewellers and goldsmiths.  We saw it only from a distance today.



Our first stop was the exterior of the Galleria degli Uffizi with many statues.  It seemed appropriate to have a picture of Richard in front of Macchiavelli and Judith in front of Galileo.




Okay I admit it, Galileo is a hero of mine (JI).

Other statues were a feast for the eyes, including a copy of Michelangelo's David and some modern bronzes.




But the piece de resistance is the Piazza del Duomo with its Cattedrale (Santa Maria del Fiore).

This little building is called the Battistero which represents the beginning of the Florentine Renaissance.


Finally, this is Santa Croce which is where Galileo is buried.