The next leg of our journey took us to Florence, Italy.

The sites we visited in and around Florence are listed in yellow at left.

Click on them for more information and pictures.

One day, the group of us wandered up to the Piazzale Michelangelo.  This is where another replica of the David stands, but also a spot that offers great views of the city!  It's an uphill hike, but it's worth it when you get to the top.  There is lots to do, and we actually missed a lot.  Now that I look back, there is actually a "Two Hour Walk to San Miniato al Monte," in the Eyewitness travel guide- which would take us exactly where we were, and we wouldn't have missed Galileo's home, or The Porta San Giorgio.  We did see an awful lot though and we had a nice long, relaxing dinner at the "Ristorante Michelangelo" which had the best view of the city- and it wasn't too expensive either!

 Our walk took us from the Ponte Vecchio, along the south side of the river Arno and eventually up a steep walkway to the top.  All the way up I was thinking what an amazing view we had, but then at the top, WOW!  There are vendors selling food and drinks at the top, so cool off and admire the view.  We just kept taking pictures, every view seemed better than the last!  The replica of the David is also up here along with other copies of Michelangelo statues. 

The next site we stumbled upon was San Salvatore al Monte which is a church that sits on the level above the Piazzale Michelangelo.  When we arrived here, there was a wedding going on inside.  Many people were taking pictures, so we tried to blend in and get a few ourselves.  It was just neat to stumble upon something like that.  The bride was gorgeous!  She was wearing a yellow wedding dress, which may sound a bit odd to us, but it was so perfect - she looked actually like a "Southern Belle!"

 From there, we went up yet another level to San Miniato al Monte.  This is a Romanesque church and was build in 1018.  Inside was quite dark, and we were only there for a short time because they were getting ready for mass (we think...all the tourists were ushered out by the priests at the same time...non-tourists stayed in the pews.) 

It's a small and detailed church.  It was quite dark inside, but I did get a decent picture of some artwork.  There are many colorful mosaics throughout the church, but they are hard to capture in a photo, due to the lighting etc.  They are especially strict here about not showing your shoulders while inside the church.  Outside there is a bell tower where cannons used to sit to shoot at the Medici troops during the Seige of Florence!  It was ringing 5 o'clock when we were there.

Behind the church sat the graveyard, which we were allowed to explore.  The cemetery was opened in 1854 and there are tombs here the which look like small churches!  Some of them are quite large and elaborate, built to show off wealth.  There are very old tombs to quite new ones as well.  If you come here, be respectful of those who are here for mourning purposes.  Mostly, keep your voices down and don't act like tourists!  Walk around individually and take it all in.

 

Our last stop of the day was the Ristorante Michelangelo.  We were all hungry, thirsty and hot at this point, and what a great place to stop.  You would think, a restaurant providing a spectacular view of the city, in a touristy area would be quite expensive, but it wasn't!  We had great food. I had a Caprese Salad (which consists of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese) as an appetizer and then an dish of artichokes and rice.  The weather was perfect and not too hazy for a grand finale sunset!

 

The day was hot, and we walked A LOT...but it was beyond worth it.  We got out of the city and saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise.  In the city, things start to all look the same.  We came up here and got a sort of outside view and I am so glad we did.  We took the same route back as we had come, but we could have walked another way as well.  Take a map with you so you don't miss stuff!  There is a lot to do south of the Arno which we didn't get in.  These include the Boboli Gardens, and the Pitti Palace among many others. 

 

*** The information on this page comes from Eyewitness Travel Guides: Florence and Tuscany 2003. Pages 130-131. ***