Floored by the Magnificence of Florence - April 2022

Magnificent is not a term I use often, unless referring to the gold medal winning 1996 US Olympic gymnastics team. However, it was the word that came to mind time and time again during our time in Florence.

Florence was the second stop on our sabbatical tour. While not a city that was on the top of my must-see list, I was intrigued to see the storied art of the Renaissance, and it did not disappoint. A liberal arts town to the nth degree, Florence had a cool vibe, with plenty of college students traipsing about the historical buildings and sculptures. I'm very glad it was a part of the tour.

After dragging our suitcases around and over the canals of Venice, we caught a water taxi to the bus that would take us to Florence. It was a pretty bus ride, going from fairly flat to hilly scenery; meanwhile, Tina shared cultural history and insights - including how to navigate the Italian rest areas. It was good that she gave us an initiation - the whole wait in line, order, get a receipt, then wait in line to give your receipt to someone to get your order procedure was not terribly intuitive.

Upon arrival in Florence, we were dropped off by the very pretty Arno river, across the street from our hotel. After checking in, we met on the terrace for a welcome drink - a fine glass (or two) of Chianti. The terrace had a lovely view of a park, the river, and the city beyond the river. We would spend plenty of time on that terrace, but more on that later.

That evening, we met up for an orientation tour of the city with Angelo, a very energetic local guide. Our first stop was the Basilica di Santa Croce, a beautiful church built back in the 14th century. Get this - the tomb of Michelangelo, the famous Renaissance artist, is directly across from the tomb of Galileo, the infamous astronomer and champion of science. To top it all off, Machiavelli's tomb is there, too. After walking around the Piazza della Signoria, with the grand Palazzo Vecchio and the weird but cool outdoor hall of statues, we made it to the most famous of Florence buildings - the Florence Cathedral, most commonly referred to as Duomo. With its intricate green and pink marble facade, it truly is magnificent.

Next up was an art demo - and not the kind of art demo that you would expect in Florence. Caterina Balletti is a "flash artist" - she can grab some paint and improvise beautiful things. We crammed into her cozy studio, poured some Prosecco, and came up with a few prompts that she turned into gorgeous paintings within minutes. She even transferred one onto a t-shirt at the end - super cool! Plus, she had such a sunny, charming energy about her, you had no choice but to enjoy yourself.

The day wouldn't be complete without a welcome dinner, so we headed over to Giglio Rosso, a lovely florentine restaurant, and were treated to a superb supper of gnocchi, t-bone steak, and potatoes. The brothers were a fan favorite for their enthusiastic t-bone consumption. Alas, I don't have access to those photos. What was dessert, you ask? Well, there was a full cart of cake options, which was obviously my favorite part of the meal. We all said "cin cin" and gulped down some grappa before crossing the Ponte Vecchio en route back to the hotel.

Florence: day 2. We began with a tour of Florence and the Bargello museum. Highlights included Michelangelo's Bacchus and Donatello's David. We also stopped by the Basilica di Santo Spirito and snuck a peek at Crucifix by Michelangelo.

The tour ended next to Pitti Palace, and we had built up a bit of an appetite by then. However, we would have to work for our lunch - at a cooking class! We got the full kitchen experience, complete with making noodles from scratch and being told that we weren't going fast enough. There was even an exasperated "mamma mia" at one point. No worries, though, we all cooked our lunches to completion and enjoyed a delicious feast as our reward - bruschetta, pasta, chicken, and tiramisu.

Now entirely full, we decided to walk around for a bit and see if any of the plentiful leather goods struck our fancy. We also tracked down a few of the bustling markets to get the full experience. Once a little room had freed up in our tummies, we figured we should track down a few negronis, since they originated in Florence. Our first stop was Cafe Gilli, a beautiful, art noveau cafe. The negronis were delicious, as advertised. Even the snacks they provided with the drinks were fancy! Next stop, La Menagere, where the negronis were also great and the people watching was even better. Since we were still rather full from lunch, we grabbed some snacks from a grocery store and headed back to hang out on the hotel terrace - which plenty of others from our group were also taking advantage of. After a few strong gusts of wind brought in the rain that had been threatening all day, we headed inside and chatted until bedtime.

For our final day in Florence, we toured the Uffizi gallery, home to many of the Medici family art treasures, including works by Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. Seeing these pieces art that I've seen so many times in text books was quite a treat.

After lunch, we hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, with its breath taking views of the city. There was even a multi-later waterfall that we enjoyed as we hiked back down to river level.

After an unsuccessful bid to visit the artist for some souvenires, we met the rest of the group at Duomo for the grand finale - a viewing of Michelangelo's David at Galleria dell'Accademia. I have to admit, the sculpture lives up to the hype - it truly is magnificent. The night ended with some pizza take out, a fitting way to end our stay.

Vibe check? Feet tired, mind blown.