Italy: Florence & Venice

We spent the second half of our time in Italy in the Tuscan city of Florence and the conglomeration of islands that is Venice. 

A quick and easy train journey took us to the heart of the Renaissance: Florence. Here we learned all about the powerful Medici family, how they financed the extravagant "rebirth" of the city and region, and basically how extra they were in every aspect of life. For example, the family resided in an "old" palace in the city center (renovated twice in order to enlarge the space) but later moved to a much bigger and more grandiose palace on the other side of the river, away from the common folk. In order to make the move from the old palace to the new one, they also had a skyway built, crossing from the palace, through the Uffizi (offices), over the old bridge, and on towards the Pitti Palace. In doing so, they avoided any possible contact with the regular people down below. We were able to tour part of the Pitti Palace (now converted into an art gallery), the massive gardens behind it, and the Uffizi (now one of Europe's best art museums). Thankfully Italy has established free entrance to state-owned museums on the first Sunday of each month, otherwise we would have spent a pretty penny on entrance fees to everything there is to see in Florence.

Another one of Florence's main attractions is the Basilica of Santa Maria di Fiore, pictured below. Its stunning facade is made of white marble and green and pinkish stone. Of churches we have seen in Europe, this one's exterior is among the most impressive. The inside, however, is quite dark and bare, leaving much to be desired. We weren't able to climb up to the top of its dome because tickets had already been sold out, but we did catch some good views of the city from across the river at Piazza Michelangelo.  

Click here to see more of our photos from Florence.

We then continued onward to Venice where we explored its labyrinth of canals. Lucky for us, there was no flooding while we were there, so we didn't have to walk on platforms, get our feet wet, or buy rubber boots, though we did see a bunch for sale. A charming place to visit and a challenging place to live, Venice was a worthwhile stop. We arrived prepared with our patience, as Venice is known for its tourist-packed alleyways, some of which are dead ends and only lead one to walk in circles. December was a good time to visit, since there were not nearly as many tourists as there are between April-October. We didn't lose our way too many times while winding through the "streets" to St. Mark's Square where we visited St. Mark's Basilica and strolled along the waterfront. It was a pleasant visit as our time in Italy came to an end, and we made sure to savor every bite and sip of soup, pasta, pizza, gelato, and coffee that Venice could offer.

Click here to see more of our photos from Venice.