Roma to Firenze

Politically, economically and culturally, Florence was the most important European city for over 250 years from before A.D. 1300 to the 1500s. The Medici family of Florence influenced the city and beyond with their art and state craft. Catherine Medici who married thr French emperor in the 16th century and took over the reign of France after his death was the Queen Victoria equivalent in European royalty in the 16th and 16th century and brought Renaissance into France. 

We took the fast train, "TrenItalia" from Rome to Florence after breakfast on the 7th. A very comfortable and quick 90 minute ride brought us to the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence from where we walked to our hotel Embassy. 

We did not let the Florentine heat bog us down and headed out for a delicious lunch at "Zaza", the ravioli with truffle sauce was the best ravioli we've had in our life. The lines at the Duomo were long and while we were not too far from the closing time, we got to see the iconic Duomo from inside (not nearly as opulent and grand as from outside), climbed up the steep, sweaty and claustrophobic 350+ steps to the top for the best view of the city, the Baptistery and visited the underground Santa Reparata. The later was the old church from the 4th century which was excavated in phases starting in the early 20th century. The floor mosaics and the tombs with inscriptions are intact. It is fascinating to imagine how the duomo was built over it and then the excavations were done eventually. 

We took the bus to the famous Piazzala de MichaelAngelo for stunning views of this city, the home town of Michael Angelo and the birthplace of the Renaissance in the 15th century. 

'Exploring' is what we do best on our trips. While going down the steps from the Piazzala, hoping to find a water source to fill up our bottle and also drawn to the river, Arno we landed at this no-name  bar swarming with mostly locals overlooking the river. We had a drink and h'orders there perched on the brick wall with a sandy beach below on the banks of the Arno river. There could not have been a more perfect way of ending the day in Florence!