Ann and Bob's Italy Trip: Tuesday 10th May

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tuesday 10th May

Everybody has been telling us "you must go to Florence". Half of the other tourists in Italy, who were told the same thing, also turned up there today with us. The other half were there yesterday.
We took the Eurostar fast train ( 37 mins from Bologna to Florence ) and the entire trip of about 100kms was in tunnels. Did not see any country side at all.
When we arrived we got straight onto the hop on / hop off bus tour which we believe is the best way to see a new place quickly and then decide what part you want to concentrate on. There is a lot to concentrate on in Florence, but we decided on the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo.
The Ponte Vecchio is known as the "Golden Bridge" as its sides are lined completely with gold jewelery shops as it has been since the mid 16th Century and goes back to the Medici era. It missed the bombing in WW11 and remains largely as it was back in the 14th Century. If Ann cannot find a new delicatessan then she is quite prepared to settle for a jewelery shop. Her dreams came true again today but she restrained herself admirably.
The Duomo, the "Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore", the cathedral of Florence is just down the road from the Ponte Vecchio and its not only Florence's most iconic landmark it is also one of Italy's big three ( with the leaning tower of Pisa and Rome's Colosseum ). Its famous red tiled dome, bell tower, baptistry and breathtaking pink, white and green marble facade have the wow factor in spades. It took 150 years to build from 1296. If you only see this in Florence it is worth the admission price.
The "admission price" to Florence doesn't stop when you get off the train. Be careful, if considering a trip, of the prices being charged around the Ponte Vecchio and Duomo ( and we imagine other places that we did not visit ). How about 10 Euro ( about $13) for a Gelati and 9 Euro ( about $12 ) for a 410 ml beer. I can supply the names of places to avoid if needed as well as the lunch place from hell - the worst tucker in 6 weeks.
Florence is beautiful and it's worth a lot more time than we had today. "Everybody" was right - you must go to Florence!!!