Medici Florence

... fortune was that the Medicis became, in effect, God's bankers! What a stroke of luck. Under Lorenzo and Cossimo Medici, Florence sponsored the greatest explosion of artistic expression in art history. The artistic quality of ancient Greece and Rome had ...

... the Arno River, across the river via the Ponte Vecchio, and finally adjoins the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens ("The" Medici Palace of Florence and the topic of a later posting).  It was reserved exclusively for the Medici who traveled this ...

... un perro. A primera vista pense, que es un enano? Y luego como un segundo despues dijo la professora, que la familia Medici querian tanto a su enano preferido que hasta lo pusieron en su tapiz. Entramos a muchos cuartos, y los muebles eran tan hermosos ...

One can't help feeling humbled and quite frankly, dwarfed as you stand beside Florence's Duomo with Brunelleschi's dome rising boldly to the heavens or next to Giotto's campanile standing alongside since 1333. Imagine for a moment, what life was like ...

... and architecture of the city that gave birth to the Renaissance.    The Art of the Renaissance is everywhere in Florence and lies awaiting discovery and scrutiny by all whose curiosity is piqued by the masters' creative genius.  Guided by ...

... walking over the Ponte Vecchio Bridge to the other side of the river and over to the Pitti Palace where the Medici family lived. A post on Florence could not be complete without a mention of our hostel. In general, we avoid hostels that are mega-big ...

... . In one of the sacristies, we saw the tomb of Laurenzo the Magnificent who presided over and encouraged so much of Florence's Renaissance glory. The adjacent church of San Laurenzo was the Medici family church and so it was full of art. Though we ...

... hotel -- and the food was very good. Ravioli di Zucca...hmmmm! Then, back to the hotel where, for the first time in a long time, we stretched out on a bed and slept soundly. Tomorrow -- Florence during the day! Flight 5042 2 hours 544 ...

Clem says: Hotel Medici turned out to be very close to the Duomo, and from our fifth floor room, we had uninterrupted views of Michelangelo´s handsome terracotta dome.  In fact, I had to restrain Nathan from actually testing whether we were ...

... was good though. Lesson learnt: just stick to Italian cuisine in Italy. The next day we had arranged a trip into the Tuscan countryside. Florence is the capital of Tuscany, and we had seen snippets of what lay beyond the city on our journey to Siena. The ...

... a relaxed pace and was a small group. We had a great introduction to the history of Florence, particularly its Renaissance culture and Medici clan, and learned how to decipher certain buildings and monuments. Once the tour ended ...

... relly bad music. We ended up getting into a cab wtih Marsha and John and went home. Let me just briefly mention the Florence hotel. The room itself was fine. Nothing special. But the bathroom was teeny tiny. I couldn't even get in the door ...

... , ate, went for a swim and had joined my roomates on the rooftop terrace. I then tried going out with two British girls but we ended up only getting gelati. I really loved Florence and would have loved to stay longer and see more of Florence and ...

The plane actually took off this time and got us to Paris in time to catch our tiny little plane to Florence!  We took a bus from the little airport to the train station and walked the rest of the way to our bed and breakfast.  It was in a ...

... a leisurely breakfast buffet at the hotel before heading out across the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) to the Palazzo Piti, the home of the Medici family. No tour this time - so we had to wait in line for about a half hour. But it was worth it! Palace ...

... boy. As we wander in search of a restaurant which appeals, we happen along the Piazza della Signoria... I am spell bound, I love Florence!! We walk up a street which shows a huge fountain with the back and bottom of a naked man with nymphs surrounding ...