Experiencing beauty and arts in nice weather

Florence (in Italian Firenze) is a Renaissance city that is well-known for arts. I went there on a daytrip from Parma. My first impressions were that the climate was already different, it was warmer and sunnier, and the air was somehow better, probably because of the mountains nearby, and the other was the architecture that is different than for instance in Milan. I liked the colorful houses and beautiful old buildings a lot. And of course, the small streets with many small shops, cafés and restaurants. And the squares (palazzi) that are characteristic for Italian towns and cities.

What was a bit disappointing for me is that most churches in Florence charge an entry fee of about 10 euros. And the Cathedral of Florence is so famous that there was a long snaking line on the square. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to wait for that because I had a ticket to the famous Uffizi Galleries, and I wanted to eat a pizza before the visit. So, I didn’t go into one single church in Florence, but I enjoyed the warm, sunny weather in the streets.

Florence is full of tourist as it is a popular destination in Italy. Although it’s a bit uncomfortable to walk around in such a crowd, the downtown is beautiful and it’s definitely worth a visit. I was very lucky to be able to purchase a ticket to the famous Uffizi Galleries, however I bought it online, a couple of weeks before my visit. Theoretically, you can buy a ticket right there, but I can imagine that it takes a long time and it might be challenging… The gallery was crowded, too, I think I had never seen such a crowded museum before! But it was very interesting and special to see such famous paintings like the Birth of Venus, one of my favorites, the original one. Years ago, I learnt about some of these famous pieces of arts at school; now I could observe them in live. It’s a huge gallery, so I spent about three hours inside. I could have stayed even longer, but it was tiring in the crowd and walking around so much. Still, I enjoyed it a lot and it was a nice experience. And the view of this city from some of the windows was also something spectacular.

After this visit to the gallery, I decided to buy a coffee and an ice-cream. It was my first real Italian ice-cream, I mean one that I ate there, and it was a pleasure! I was eating my ice-cream while walking on the riverbank and heading towards the famous old bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. The lights were beautiful in the late-afternoon sunshine. The colors of those building are incredible! In these moments of my journey, I just felt happy, relaxed and peaceful. I tried to absorb this spectacular view as much as I could, just like at so many other places in Italy.