Discovering the Treasures of Firenze

We arrived by sleeper car early in the morning on Wednesday. And why it’s called a sleeper car is a mystery to me, since I didn’t get much sleep. Fortunately for us, the hotel allowed us to access our room immediately so that we could put our bags down and freshen up, which was greatly needed. After lunch and a nap we went to the Piazza del Duomo where we visited the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, climbed the dome, and went into the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Up inside the dome we could see the artwork on the ceiling in great detail. We proceeded further up on the cupola where we could overlook the entire city of Florence. It was spectacular. We couldn’t help but wonder how could the builders in the 14th century create such a structure, and then paint it. Incredible! We also went inside the baptistery which was also interesting to look at, especially the domed ceiling covered in mosaic. In the evening we set out to find a place for dinner. As we wound through the narrow lanes, referring to Rick Steves’ guide for suggestions, an American passing by mentioned, “Nice book.” We stopped to chat and noticed that it was none other than the sweetheart of American tourists himself, Rick Steves. So there you have it, our second brush with fame, thus far (our first was when we passed Judy Dench on a sidewalk in London). We then proceeded to a wonderful restaurant where Isaac was the adventurous one, eating octopus for dinner.
14 May 2009
Yesterday we went to the Duomo and the baptistery. The painting inside the dome looked just like it was 3-D. It was beautiful inside the Duomo and the baptistery. The Duomo is shaped like a cross. The baptistery had 3 doors that were beautifully carved. The pictures at the top were mosaic. We also met Rick Steves.
-Isaac