Florence is such a wonderful city. These people who take a day trip from Rome or who just sweep in and see the Uffizi and the David. I really don't get it. I don't even LIKE art, but I still loved the heartbeat of this city, the undercurrent of the Renaissance. It's everywhere. It fuels this city and makes it special. Not taking the time to experience this is doing both the city and the traveler a big disservice.
There are so many wonderful things about Florence. The architecture, the food, the gelato, the shopping. There are
several open-air markets every day - the Loggia near the Ponte Vecchio and the San Lorenzo market around the San Lorenzo church. The Central Market (see picture at left, click for larger) is a double-decker market with meat and cheese and wine and a cornucopia of luscious fresh produce. The Ponte Vecchio gold shops are a dazzling sea of gorgeous 18 karat gold. There's pottery, leather, designer clothes and shoes, souvenirs, you name it. There are so lovely churches that range from the tiny to the large. Gorgeous art and sculpture is literally inescapable, sometimes even resting on the OUTSIDE of buildings.Let's talk about the food. Everyone knows that Tuscan food is great, I hope. But really, it is WONDERFUL. More meat-heavy than what I found in either Venice or Rome, I had lovely chicken and beef dishes several times in Florence. The Bistecca alla Fiorentina - a t-bone steak flame-grilled to rare perfection, is lovely. Country Tuscan dining puts people next to each other at big long tables. This makes dining at these little trattorias not just a meal but a real true cultural experience. And the wine, if you like wine, there are enotecas at every turn, and in restaurants the house wine is often down right cheap. Tuscan food is about simplicity and quality ingredients. The olive oil alone is like nothing I've ever had before, just pour it over toasted bread and you have an amazing delicacy. And the list just goes on and on!
Let's also talk about the gelato. It's an artform just as much as the art in the museums. Mousse gelato, fruit sorbetti
and gelato, you name it, the gelaterias in Florence are famous for serving some of the freshest and most creative gelato available.How about just the fact that Florence is just simply BEAUTIFUL!!! You walk along the river, see the stately dome of the Duomo rise above, and if you look in any direction and you can't escape the awe-inspiring Tuscan Hills (see picture, click for larger). It's also inordinately gorgeous at night. I think few experiences in life could possibly match watching the sunset up on Piazzale Michelangelo as it sets on a Michaelangelo-designed staircase, or sitting in the lovely San Miniato al Monte church listening to the Gregorian Chants or just simply looking down on the city as another day sets. It is a view, it is a feeling, it is a memory that I know I will never ever forget (see picture below, click for larger).
Florence is also compact and easy to get around. Its bus system is excellent and the main areas of interest are all within walking distance. The neighborhood south of the river called the Oltrarno is less touristed and a little more "real" feeling. Florence is very safe. The people are lovely. Other museum like the Bargello (a statue museum in an old jail that seems painfully undervisited) and the Pitti Palace/Boboli Gardens are lovely and worth a visit. Even within the oft-visited Accademia, where the throngs of visitors and tour groups surround the David, there is a truly lovely and unique exhibit of Italian musical instruments that I thought was worth the Accademia price of admission in itself. Better yet, while all those crowds surrounded the David, I had the musical instruments exhibit almost to myself.
I don't understand. the 4 or so full days I spent in Florence weren't nearly enough. I want to go back, I want to wander the area around the Duomo, which I somehow kind of missed. I want to taste more gelato and try more of those wonderful little restaurants. I want to buy a leather purse and some more lovely jewelry unlike anything I've ever seen in the US. I want to check out some of the little churches down narrow alleys. For anyone who reads this who's planning a trip to Italy. Florence is more than a couple of world-famous museums. It can be busy, but you can make reservations early in the day to get those sights out of the way before the daytripping crowds arrive. Get away from the congested city center and you see a place that lives and breathes its beautiful past.
I dare you to go and stay a few days and really get down and dirty and experience the real Florence and come back and say you didn't like it.
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