We have left Pisa and continued to Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region; a city with great art, gelato, and “bistecca all fiorentina” from the famous Tuscan Chianina cattle. These steaks are renowned for their flavor and tenderness, and always served rare.

(5/10) We began navigating the streets of Florence, in the rain, beginning with the neighborhood of Santo Spirito with its piazza and the Basilica of Santo Spirito. The area is also a home to “buchette del vino” or wine windows. Wine windows are about 12 inches high and 8 inches with a dome-like shaped top. They are little windows on the walls on some local nobles’ palaces. These windows have been used for hundreds of years to sell wine in a “fiasco” (glass bottle) without having to open a store or pay tax.

Wine windows posed a most useful anti-contagion way to sell wine during the 1630-1633 epidemic and then again during the Covid-19 pandemic. We looked for these windows but in struggling with a map and an umbrella, it was much easier to order a bottle of wine at a restaurant!

Next, we sauntered over to the Palazzo Pitti, named after its first owner, Florentine banker Luca Pitti. The Palace was later purchased in 1550 by Cosimo de’Medici and his wife, becoming a symbol of Medici’s power over Tuscany. It also later housed the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and the kings of Italy from the House of Savoy. Today, the Palace is divided into five museums, including “The Flower Vase” by Jan van Huysum that was stolen by a German soldier during WWII. This was a perfect way to spend a rainy, dreary day. Outside the Palace sits the stunning Giardino di Boboli.

After leaving the Palace, we explored more narrow, city streets and the well known and popular Ponte Vecchio bridge. The bridge is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge that was spared from destruction during WW II. It is recognized for the shops built along it; a common practice from long ago.

Our day ended at the Galleria degli Uffizi, a gallery featuring the world’s greatest collection of Italian Renaissance art. Pieces include “The Birth of Venus,” The Coronation of the Virgin,” “Meduse,” and several other masterpieces by Titian, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Raphael.

And just when you think your day is done, there’s the walk to dinner. Our route led us through the Piazza del Duomo, a stunning sight in itself. The ringing of church bells was sweet music to our ears!

(05/11) Today, with finally some sunshine, we headed to the Galleria dell’ Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s “David,” Giambologna’s “The Rape of the Sabine Women” and other great masterpieces by artists Botticelli, Pontormo, and Andrea del Sarto. After all the studying and reading about the sculpture, and seeing it in photos, I literally was not prepared for what I saw first hand. The sight of the “David” made my eyes tear up; it was truly breath taking. This will certainly be remembered as one of my life’s highlights.

After a relaxing lunch at Caffe Gilli, we headed over to the Giardino di Boboli. The Boboli Gardens is a historical park in the city that was originally designed for Medici. Located adjacent to the Palace, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden. Its vastness reminded us somewhat of the gardens in Versailles. Unfortunately, our afternoon stroll was interrupted by the rain, again; my white pants now resemble a Jackson Pollock canvas of mud and grit.

Incidentally, Caffe Gilli is the oldest cafe in the city of Florence. It was founded over 270 years ago by a Swiss family in Medici-era as a pastry shop close to the Duomo. In the mid 1800s, it moved to where it is now in Piazza della Republica , expanding their menu to include lunch and dinner.

Out trip to Florence ended on Friday, May 12th. Back on the train, we headed up to LaSpezia to get begin traveling further down the coast to the towns Ponza, Ischia, and then Positano. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Tuscany region with intentions to come back to tour the countryside rather than the capital city. This way we will have more time and not have to worry about incurring an expensive marina charge!