Under the Tuscan Sun in Florence, Italy Part II

Monday was my last full day in Florence and I wanted to experience the view of Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo. If you didn't know already, Piazzale Michelangelo is known to have the best panoramic view in all of Florence, so make sure you stop by if you ever visit! We walked a few blocks, across the Arno river and up a steep hill to reach the Piazza. The view was stunning when we reached the stop. You could see the entire Florence skyline and even the rolling hills of Tuscany in the distance. The weather forecast called for rain so I didn't bring my sunglasses, assuming it would be cloudy. But it ended up being quite sunny (minus some clouds in the distance) so excuse the picture of me squinting. The sun was so BRIGHT!

After our visit to Piazzale Michelangelo, we decided to finally visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Fiore, or as it's better known as, the Duomo. Stephanie actually lives incredibly close to the Duomo. You can see the front of the church from her living room window yet she hadn't been inside since she moved to Florence, so it was a first for both of us. The majority of the outside of the Duomo is made of marble. Isn't that incredible? It was completely finished in 1436 and I'm just amazed at how intricate the outside is (check out the statues built into the front) and how innovative the engineers were back then. Also, I'm pretty sure there wasn't flash allowed inside the church (most places we visited wouldn't allow flash) so forgive me if the pictures are slightly fuzzy or grainy. I tried my best!

Later on, we decided to climb up the steps to the very top of the Duomo. There are 463 steps you have to climb to reach the top. We knew there were a lot but I don't think either of us were prepared for how steep and strenuous the walk up was going to be. The trek up those stairs is not for the faint of heart...literally! One of the really neat things about walking to the top of the Duomo is that you actually get to walk around inside the dome on your way up. If we were tall enough, we may have been able to actually touch the painting inside!

We finally reached the top after the challenging hike up the Duomo stairs. We were hot and sweaty but relieved that we made it and we were rewarded with a magnificent view of Florence. 

We finished our day with a stop at a local cafe for some delicious ice cold coffee. We definitely needed it after the Duomo! The rest of the night was spent relaxing, chatting and listening to the sounds of an Italian accordion player play on the busy street below. The next day, I was off on the train again, making my way back to Germany. I had a great time in Florence. It's a busy city yet it's probably not as busy as a city such as Rome (haven't been yet but I hear it's a lot more fast paced). If you are into architecture, history and art, I think you'd love Florence. It has a lot to offer. I hope the next time I travel to Italy, I'll be able to see more of the countryside. Maybe even visit a vineyard and do some wine tasting! I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip to Florence. Before I end this post, I wanted to show you the breathtaking view of the Duomo from Stephanie's apartment. Can you say, amazing?! Anyway, Ciao for now!