Florence : Sightseeing

I have to say that Florence was love at first sight. We spent a few days in this romantic, Tuscan city and saw some of the most incredible things this city has to offer. My favourite moment was our first glimpse of the Duomo. From far it looked surreal. Thierry and I were in awe and stood in the middle of a busy sidewalk just staring at the church. We didn't move for a few minutes, both grinning from ear to ear.

In front of the Duomo there are the massive bronze doors of the Baptistery (a must-see).

We decided to see three major museums and my favourite was the Duomo museum (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) with its extensive collection of Donatello's sculptures and Michelangelo's Pieta which was really breathtaking. *Quick history lesson, Donatello was known to create sculptures that were realistic, in other words he did not try to beautify his works like other sculptures of his time, hence the eerie Habacuc and Marie Magdalene shown below.

We also visited the Bargello Museum, which was once a police station turned into prison and now home to Donatello's David. Like other major museums, we were prohibited from taking pictures of the art. We were able to take pictures inside the museum's courtyard but it had little to showcase. The statue of a little fisher boy was one of Thierry's favourites.

We made a quick stop at Ponte Vecchio. The view from the bridge is spectacular and the jewelery shops that take up the whole bridge were neat to look at. I would look in each shop to see the view they had over the water. Can you imagine being at work and having a view like this?

At the entry of the bridge, people have been leaving locks as a symbol for their eternal love. Oh so romantic.

*Another highlight was seeing Michelangelo's David. Unfortunately, pictures were prohibited in this museum as well, so I have none to show. But what I can tell you for sure is that this 17 foot tall statue is incredible. We almost skipped out on it but thankfully, I managed to suck up my near heat stroke while waiting close to an hour in the blistery Tuscan sun. David was well worth it.