Kara has been studying in Florance Italy this semester, so Ray and LeAnn flew over to visit with her and explore some of the areas around Florence. We left on Monday evening, flying through Paris and arriving in Florence on Tuesday afternoon. We stayed in a hotel along the Arno river, about a 20 minute walk from Kara's apartment. She is up on a hill on the south side of the river. At the bottom of the hill is the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is lined with jewelry stores on both sides and is basically closed to vehicular traffic.
There is a shortcut to her apartment using stairs, or a longer walk up a steep road. We usually used the road to get there. The roads in this area are very narrow with the buildings creating the edges of the roads, The view from her apartment to the north is fantastic, with the old part of Florence and Duomo ( the main cathedral in town) visible from her bedroom.
Our first stop was to get some gelato, which is Italian ice cream. It is very smooth and creamy, and this wouldn't be our last gelato cone. We stopped for dinner in a one of Kara's favorite restaurants, Palazo Tempi, and tried a variety of local pasta and a calzone. It was all very good and made us look forward to week a Italian food.
We then walked across the Ponte Vecchio bridge, and stopped to see the
Il Porcellino bronze pig statue at Mercato Nuovo. We rubbed his snout, which is supposed to ensure a return visit to Florence, and placed a coin in its mouth to let it fall into the grate below for good luck. Our last stop of the evening was Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as
Il Duomo di Firenze or just the Duomo
. This is the main cathedral of Florence, and was built using white and green marble. Work started in the late 1290's and was not completed until 1436. The dome stands over 350 high and has been in constant use since it was completed. It is lit up at night and is spectacular.
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