Weekend in Florence

It only took 5 months, but we were finally able to get away for a weekend excursion.  John’s TDY this fall put a big kink in our travel plans.  Follow that up with Christmas, and that’s why it took us so long to finally travel outside of our local area.

We found a hotel just outside the historical center of Florence, and made the 3 hour trip with dogs in tow.  I’m not going to lie, driving in Florence was a NIGHTMARE, but we survived, Randy didn’t get car sick, and we had a great weekend!

It rained most of the weekend, but thankfully it was never a hard rain and it wasn’t too cold.  It was a great time to go because the crowds were at an absolute minimum.  We stood in line, without a reservation, for the Uffizi for no more than 5 minutes which is unheard of.  That was the only line and the only crowd we experienced the whole weekend.

Our first stop was the Florence Duomo (Santa Maria Della Fiore).  We climbed the 463 stairs to the top of the dome for some fantastic views of the city!

Here you can see the Santa Maria Novella Church & Santa Maria Novella train station in the distance.  When I came to Florence in college I had to give a small presentation to classmates on the SMN train station (it’s designed in the Fascist style of architecture).

 

Here you can see Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery.

The next stop on our trip was the Florence leather market.  Because of the weather (and maybe our shopping) we only have this one photo.   The market was huge with vendors selling coats, bags, wallets, belts, and anything that could be made of leather.  And it was ALL gorgeous!

Our second day in Florence we hit up the Uffizi Gallery and walked around Ponte Vecchio.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the art of course, but the views from inside the galleries were just as beautiful!

I loved this view of Ponte Vecchio and the bridges of Florence. From here you have a great view of Vasario’s corridor which connects Palazzo Vecchio with the Piiti Palace. The corridor allowed Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici to go from his home to the government offices without ever having to go out in public.

Beautiful Santa Maria Della Fiore

Florence has always been one of my favorite places, and now John has been able to experience the magic of it for himself.  It’s definitely a place both of us want to visit again (hopefully when it’s warm and sunny)!