Firenze (Florence)

Mui Fan...haha

Soggiorno Gloria...da besto hostel we lived in...

Lorenzo Market, poor shoppers' hinterland...

Duomo di Firenze 1...

Duomo di Firenze 2...

Intricate painting on the door panel...

Duomo di Firenze 3 with me of course...

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...

Opps, I think I dropped something...

Magnificanto...

Wow

Managed to squeeze a smile after climbing 400+ steps...

Bird's eye view from Duomo...

Proof as usual...

Atop Duomo di Firenze...grp photo as usual...

Erm...of all the things I've seen in this Museo, the Pieta (see below) is all that I remembered...

Florentine Pieta, not to be confused with the Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica...

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral church of Florence aka Duomo di Firenze...

Coat of Arms of Florence, the capital city of Tuscany...

Ponte Vecchio from afar...

Oh David...put on some pants...the real David is @ Galleria dell'Accademia...

Florence skyline...

Ponte Vecchio...

Ponte Vecchio and I...and an ANNOYING finger...

Star-shaped tiramisu...frm Celini

My best impression of Florence was the Ponte Vecchio. It is a medieval bridge built across Arno Bridge. It was constructed in the Roman times and first appeared in document around AD996. Although it may seem like just another bridge, it has this freshness about it yet still possesses a sense of history which makes it captivating.

The hostel that we stayed in at Florence (Soggiorno Gloria) is the best amongst the 3 that we stayed in. It has hot water, a bathroom as big as the hostel room and a bed to die for (or in). The hostel room is huge by hostel standards and it is well-furnished. Besides, we paid a little less than agreed on booking because the hostel guy was easy-going.

Food was as good as it was cheap. We ate to our hearty full and paid peanuts. haha. Peanuts would not be the best word since it has implied meaning if you come from where I live. (peanuts = $600 000). Well, it was relatively inexpensive compared with the rest of the cities in Italy that we visited.

I bought a painting of Florence along Ponte Vecchio and that made me a satisfied shopper!!! Spent the 2nd day in Florence looking for souvenirs and the best gelato in Florence. Next up, we traveled by rail to Pisa! Next train stationale, Pisa!