Florence, Italy

We took a speed train from Rome to Florence. Very fast and convenient! We spent 3 nights there. Unfortunately, Caryl caught a cold and wasn't feeling good for most of that time. In addition, Florence was overrun by mosquitoes. Our hotel room was full of them. Somehow, no matter how many we killed, more kept getting in. Durning our second night, Caryl woke up around 3am, and said he couldn't take it anymore. So, in a sleepy haze we packed up all our stuff and set out to find a nice hotel with air conditioning and fewer mosquitoes. This is easier said than done! We walked around with our back packs for about an hour, saw the Cathedral at night, which was awesome, and then gave up and returned to our room. Caryl ended up getting a mosquito net from the hotel staff the next morning, which helped. He swears he will never go back to Florence.

Cathedral (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) during the day:



Basilica of Saint Lawrence, one of the oldest churches in Florence, consecrated in 393AD:



Scaffolds:



Cathedral dome:



Palazzo Vecchio (town hall):



There are two statues in front of the town hall. One is Michaelangelo's David and the other is Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus. This second sculpture depicts Hercules after he has killed the fire-belching monster Cacus. It is a symbol of physical strength, which juxtaposes nicely with David as a symbol of spiritual strength.

David (reproduction, of course):



Hercules:



Ponte Vecchio:









Santa Maria Novella:



Square in front of Santa Maria Novella:



And the cathedral at dusk: