Boboli Gardens

Boboli Gardens is pretty centrally located in Florence just a bit south of the Arno and just a few minutes walk if you cross at the Ponte Vecchio.  This was my first visit there and all I could think was how beautiful these trees must be in the fall.  While golden aspens are beautiful, this Denver girl really wants to see a colorful autumn again.     

I had my first Italian class in which I am for the 5th time in my life, learning an alphabet.  The early part of studying a language as many of you know, is quite humbling in that it's almost like being back in kindergarten--except that kindergarten was harder with all of its unattainable coloring page goals. 

Since I am hunkering down right now and trying to settle in and yes, learn numbers as well as the alphabet, I'll let the photos from Boboli Gardens speak for themselves.   Just two items here...

1. Go.  It's stunning.  

2. Ditch your cutie shoes and embrace the tourist comfortable shoe look.  I was improperly shod for a walk that was essentially lots of uphill walking on gravel.  The other chicas in open shoes seemed to a agree.  Pebbles in sandals are pretty awful.

What do you think the Medicis did all day in their grand palazzo?

Climbing Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence

Viewing a city from above is always a must do for a one-of-a-kind view in my opinion and yet I skipped this last time I was in Florence.  You can climb both the bell tower and the duomo on the same ticket if you are ultra ambitious and a rock star, which I am not.  I opted for the bell tower this time around so I could see the duomo from up high.  True to yesterday's post, I was in line at exactly 8:29 and those of us who were there at opening, headed right on up those 7.5 million stairs. 

Climb a tower at sea level, how hard can it be right?  While my lungs delighted in the abundance of oxygen, I'll admit to stopping at each level to take in the view and let my jello legs rest a bit.  Climbing this in August even in the morning, probably wasn't the most ideal time either.

Here's another advantage of early morning activities....this tower only has one staircase for up and down traffic. When you are heading up early in the morn, you pass no one on their way down.  There is a bit of a dance and repositioning on the way down as you pass others in this crazy narrow staircase.   If you are on your way down, you can press yourself up against the wall on the right where the steps are the widest--those coming up have that itty bitty narrow stair which feels even smaller when you are stepping on it.  While I don't have a fear of heights, I do have a phobia of clumsy people falling on top of me.  I can't imagine this staircase midday with so many people trying to pass each other.

The climb isn't actually all that bad, only around 400+ stairs.  The secret is climbing up behind a grandmother so you can go as slow and steady as she is without anyone knowing you can barely keep up with her.  There are little peep holes with phenomenal views along the way.  

There are also multiple levels along the way where you can stop and take in the view. 

Almost to the top

Et voila.  I know climbing the duomo is a bigger bucket list item but you can't get this view from the top of the duomo. Did you know that Brunelleschi lost to Ghiberti in the the contest to create the baptistry doors?  He had to settle for building this little 'ole dome....how could one period be so full of  so many accomplished masters? 

Yep, absolutely worth the climb. 

Firenze in the Morning

Early morning in foreign countries will always have a special place in heart.  The way a city smells, the feel of the cool morning air on the skin and the pulse of everyday life and work coming alive, yes, those are the memories with the most enveloping and tenacious grip.  

The added bonus of those early morning wanderings through town is that the streets are mostly yours--there are very few of us who find 7am walks through the city to be one of the best parts of the day. 

Behold, a duomo without a mob of tourists jostling you from every side. 

For reference, this is the same street during the day.This line is to enter the cathedral and there's a line that starts way back near the duomo that is for climbing to the top.  It extends all the way around the corner to the back of the duomo. More power to all of you who will wait hours in line for anything.  The lines for the climb up the duomo or bell tower are about 30-40 people long right before opening and those groups headed straight up when the doors opened at 8:30.

Okay, I'm going to judge here on this next crowd photo so skip right on over if you like.   Seriously, the selfie stick? WTF.  Everywhere.  What I find more interesting annoying than the whole concept of people needing to smack people in the head in order to take endless selfies, is that this person is standing in front of the baptistry doors taking a photo of herself that maybe got the duomo steps in it.  She's standing in front of THE baptistry doors.  These are the doors that were at the very tip-top of my must see list on my first trip to Florence...the birth of the Renaissance, Ghiberti's relief sculptures (okay replicas, but the originals are inside the museum), centuries upon centuries of history in that baptistry but taking a picture facing the other way into a crowd of people without any location reference to take a selfie that probably looks exactly like the selfie she took 8 minutes ago is better?  Unbelievable. And I'm done.

We had to do a relief sculpture in plaster in art history class.  My professor essentially said I was really, really ridiculously bad at it, especially at linear perspective.  Okay, really, I sucked at all of it.  Ghiberti obviously, did not. I resented my professor at the time because I hated being graded on a talent I do not have nor felt was relevant to art history, but all these years later, I see that she really did teach me an art appreciation lesson.  I love sculptures all the more because I know how crazy difficult they are. 

It's nice to be able to see relief sculptures without selfie sticks smacking you in the head.

An empty courtyard where 100s will line up in a few hours to climb the bell tower. 

Getting a photo of the basilica steps without people is only possible early morning and extra late when the city has gone to sleep. 

An empty Ponte Vecchio...weird but true.  When the shops open up and the gold jewelry comes out, there is barely room to walk. 

An unbelievably empty Piazza della Signoria.  

Fake David will have quite a large crowd vying for space for a photo in front of him soon.

The Loggia dei Lanzi is a great place to rest midday  for a respite from the heat.  You can hear the echoes of your own footsteps early in the morning.

I'm a morning person so popping out of bed while traveling is extra-easy for me but even if you are not, you have to admit that it might just be worth the extra effort to get some alone time with a city.  It also makes a good reason for a  little nap when the afternoon sun is high in the sky. 

And just because I'm going through pup withdrawals.  It's unfortunate that no Bostons are carved anywhere on the Baptistry doors.