Florence map
This day was our first day in Florence, aka Firenze in Italian. Coming over from Venice, Florence seemed a lot more modern to us. It was beautiful too, just in a different way.
Florence is basically a city of museums which all charge you for entry. It was a major turn off but we’re already here, so we just have to bear with it. The historic centre of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982 and according to Ma Jie (and verified by us), the city is famous for leather goods and a rather mediocre looking Ponte Vecchio passing over the River Arno.
Anyway that day we woke up around 10 and left the hotel at around 11. Very late.
Better hotel opposite ours
We decided to proceed first to the tourist information centre to get some information and on the way we passed by the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. The day was sunny and windy. Great day for photos in piazzas.
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
After staying briefly at the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata where the National Archaeological Museum was located, we headed to the tourist information centre (nothing interesting here) and went next to the Piazza San Lorenzo.
On way to Piazza San Lorenzo
Similar to Milan, my general perception of Florence after walking thus far is that Florence is a historical city which looks cleaner than Paris. Is Paris really that dirty? Or am I slightly prejudiced?
Anyway, we reached our destination rather soon. Piazza San Lorenzo is where the Basilica of San Lorenzo was located. On the streets beside the basilica are MANY MANY MANY street stalls selling leather goods. Here, we learned the term ‘Vera Pelle’ which meant Genuine Leather in Italian.
Nice statue in Piazza San Lorenzo
The prices of most of the leather goods were not on display and you’ll see lots of tourists bargaining with the sellers, trying to push prices down from seemingly low enough numbers.
Shop selling leather goods (mostly belts)
After taking a few glances at a few stalls, we decided to enter the Basilica, only to find that they charge a price to enter. As the exterior of the basilica didn’t look very interesting, we opted not to spend that money (save for Rome! save for Rome!). Instead, we just took a few pictures outside.
Entrance to the Basilica di San Lorenzo
Side shot of the Basilica di San Lorenzo
I believe this is a view from one side of the Basilica
Next off, we made our way to the Piazza del Duomo, which is one of the main tourist attractions in the city.
On the way to Piazza del Duomo
The Piazza del Duomo is located in the centre of Florence and here stands three magnificent edifices – Battisteri di San Giovanni, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Campanile di Giotto.
Piazza del Duomo with Battisteri di San Giovanni in front
Behind Battisteri is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
Beside it was the Campanile di Giotto
Entrance to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was free of charge, except for a certain part which required payment. We went in to ‘look see look see’ (Sharon K., 2009).
Inside the Basilica
Looking up the Dome
Interesting statue
Exit Basilica from side
When we were done with the Basilica, we started randomly walking in a certain direction, our next destination being the Piazza della Signoria.
On our way, we passed by the Piazza San Firenze which wasn’t as beautiful a piazza compared to the Piazza del Duomo. However, there were three interesting buildings that you can see from this piazza, namely the Badia, the Bargello and the Complesso di San Firenze.
Walking randomly in a certain direction
Piazza San Firenze (Badia, Bargello, Complesso di San Firenze from left to right)
Strolling a little more, we finally reached the Piazza della Signoria. Here, you can see some really nice sculptures, including a replica of Michaelangelo’s famous David.
At Piazza della Signoria (Fountain of Neptune)
Equestrian statue of Cosimo I
A little tired of walking, we decided to sit down somewhere for a rest. Not wanting to waste time simply idling, we decided to take some photos of ourselves posing.
Unfortunately, I’m not much of a poser and everyone looked cool, except for me, who was hiding my hands in my pockets, making the area at my stomach bulge as though I had a super big belly. Fail.
I is failed poser
Wide view of the Piazza
After taking some more pictures of the piazza, we decides to head towards the famous Ponte Vecchio. Actually, all 5 of us were wondering why this bridge is so highly acclaimed. It’s not exactly beautiful, and there isn’t anything special about it except for the fact that it has two rows of shops on it.
Anyway, on the way there we passed by a market selling leather goods and also some people who were filming either a movie or a documentary involving artists painting on the ground.
Market selling leather goods
Some statue of wild boar beside market
Filming of some people drawing on the ground
Dude busy asking pedestrians to not walk into scene
Xiao Xiao tried to take a photo of himself with some guy who apparently is a movie star but he wasn’t really successful.
While heading towards the bridge, we had a quick stop at the Piazza della Republica. In the picture below, the entrance behind me brings you to a road in Florence beside which various luxury brands are located. E.g. Bvlgari, Burberry, D&G. At the end of the road is a huge Salvatore Ferragamo shop with a museum dedicated to Ferragamo on the first floor.
Piazza della Republica
Leaving the Piazza della Republica, we soon reached the Ponte Vecchio. Sadly, part of it was under restoration. Nevertheless, PICTURE TIME!
View from Ponte Vecchio
On Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio wasn’t really exciting. It was just OK to me, nothing spectacular. The Ponte dell Constituzione in Venice was far more beautiful. Then again, I was in Florence, so I just had to accept the fact that it is already the awesom-est bridge there.
We crossed River Arno via the bridge, walked a bit along the other side and reached the bridge next to it, called the Ponte Santa Trinita. On this bridge we tooked some pictures of the Ponte Vecchio. Notice in the picture below that the part of the bridge behind my head was under repair.
Ponte Vecchio from bridge beside it
Back on the side we initially were on, we reached the road I talked about earlier (the one with luxury brands). It is called the Via de’ Tornabuoni. The entrance to this road from where we were is called the Piazza Santa Trinita and this is where the Palazzo Spini Feroni is. The Palazzo Spini Feroni is home to the largest Salvatore Ferragamo shop I’ve seen in Italy. I guess Salvatore Ferragamo to Florence is what Louis Vuitton is to Paris.
Palazzo Spini Feroni (Salvatore Ferragamo shop and museum upstairs)
Piazza Santa Trinita
Via de’ Tornabuoni
We walked along the Via de’ Tornabuoni and ogled at the nice branded products which we couldn’t afford and arrived at the entrance to the Piazza della Republica.
Exit to Piazza della Republica
At this point in time, we were all rather tired and decided to return to the hotel. We slowly walked back and reached the hotel at about 6.30 in the evening.
Aik Hong then consulted the lady manager of the hotel regarding nice places to dine. She introduced us a restaurant near the hotel which we visited. I ordered the dish below which cost me 8.00 euros with a 1.50 euros cover charge. The best dish night that night, in my opinion, was Ma Jie’s lasagne which cost her 7.00 euros with the same cover charge.
Dinner that night
Ma Jie’s lasagne
Anyway, this marks the end of our first day in Florence. Maybe Venice was just too beautiful, or maybe Florence was just unexciting, but I retired to bed that night yearning for the orgasmic sceneries presented to us in Venice.
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