Trip to Italy Day 7– Florence Tour

On Saturday we all slept in and then prepared for the trip to Tuscany's capital, Florence for a guided tour on what was finally a pretty day.  Since I can’t do long distance walking and we were having trouble figuring out how to get to Florence, we just decided that I would drive them to a place to meet the guide, come back to Castellina then go back and pick them up – about a 50 minute trip each way.  I had mentioned before that the terrain reminded me of WV and here are a couple of shots showing that from the road to Florence and the road to the farmhouse where we are staying.

The Florence tour lasted about 3½ hours and was led by independent tour guide, Chiari, who our folks said was very knowledgeable about the city and its history.  The private tour was 340 euros.  Florence (Firenze) has been around since 90 BC and is the home of the European Renaissance, the wealthy De Medici family, Michelangelo and Leonardo Di Vince.

Kathy took lots of shots and I’ve included enough to give you a flavor of the old city beginning with Santa Croce - Church (church of the Franciscan monks).

This is the Duomo.

This is a replica of Michelangelo’s David made for this first location after the original statue was moved to a museum.

These statues represents what the Di Medici’s will do to anyone who attacks them.

This is Chiari in one of the typical narrow streets.  

 The "Medici bridge" in Florence is commonly known as the Ponte Vecchio, which translates to "Old Bridge" in English. It's a historic stone bridge that spans the Arno River and is famous for having shops built along it, a practice that was once common on bridges. The Vasari Corridor, a secret passageway, also runs along the Ponte Vecchio, connecting the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.

After the tour, Bev was done for the day and I had a sore throat so we stayed in and Kathy and Keith went for supper to Il Cantuccio Restaurant and Wine Bar in Castellina.  They spent over three hours having a typical Italian meal and liked it so well that they made a reservation for lunch the next day which was Easter Sunday and Beverly’s birthday.

A typical Italian meal usually consists of several courses, with the structure often starting with an antipasto (appetizer), followed by a primo (pasta, soup, or rice dish), then a secondo (main course of meat or fish) with a contorno (side dish) and finally a dessert. A full meal might also include a drink like wine or water.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/20/25 event dates