Not long after leaving the platform, my train window transformed from awesome graffiti walls to rolling greenery. The view was mesmerizing and it was easy to get lost in thought. Even though it was an hour and a half train ride from Rome to Florence, it felt like I teleported. Florence was still incredibly busy, but there was less hustle and bustle than Rome. Florence had a warm and friendly vibe and I couldn’t wait to explore the home town of Michelangelo!

The first stop was the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s David. I’ve seen tons of pictures of the statue of David and have heard from others about how amazing it is, but it is truly an experience seeing it right in front of you. It’s hard to believe that this used to be one giant block of marble. At almost 17 feet tall, this statue towered over my 5’ 2” self and all I could do was admire the work and process to create it. Sure, he’s a bit nakey, but I think the craftsmanship and the way Michelangelo chooses to depict David overpowers that fact. Not to mention he was commissioned for this piece at just 26 years old! I love how he pushed the boundaries with his art during his time at such a young age.

It has been debated whether Michelangelo chose to capture David the moment before or after facing Goliath. Our tour guide said it was the moment before as he pointed out the concentration in his eyes and the tense muscles in his torso and throughout his body to convey the emotions he must have been going through. It's just uncanny how he was able to create so much detail from something that was a block of marble. You can also see the different textures of the marble and how white it is. I was blown away by the level of detail like the veins and human anatomy that Michelangelo was able to portray and the moment he decided to capture.

Florence Cathedral

The Florence Cathedral’s exterior was unreal. It almost seemed fake like it was a made-up backdrop or I was walking up to the "It’s a Small World" ride. The architects that designed this beautiful structure was Arnolfo di Cambio, who started it and Filippo Brunelleschi, who designed the dome. It took two centuries and a series of architects to complete the work. The architecture of the Duomo is incredibly detailed and ornate. The interior was fascinating and also contained several works of art and stained glass. Most of the images were shot in the Hand-held Twilight scene setting, but I should have tried Anti-Motion Blur since most of the images were indoors.

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge

From the cathedral to the Ponte Vecchio bridge were beautiful corridors. Some were narrow and had an awesome old timely feel. Along the way is also the place where the via dei Georgofili bombing occurred right behind the Uffizi museum. You can see the old brick and the new brick showing the damage done. Once on the bridge, both sides were lined with incredible jewelry shops. Padlocks scattered the bridge and were mostly attached to the rails around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. Supposedly, lovers that would lock a padlock and throw away the key meant they would be eternally bonded. I was so ready to custom engrave a padlock and place one here until I did a bit of research on it. I read that it is basically littering and the locks would eventually get cut off to keep the bridge from getting weighed down. Bummer.

I also started to play with the manual settings! Still getting a hang of it, but I had a little more time to change the settings in the bridge images below.

Wine Tasting

Under the Tuscan sun! I couldn’t visit Florence and not go wine tasting. Just 20 minutes out of Florence the roads started to go up and down and the views were spectacular. You could see miles of vineyards, orchards, or farms well into the horizon. During several stretches of road, olive trees were lined up on both sides and went on for what seemed like miles. The first stop was Castello Vichiomaggio. Their view overlooked vineyards and rolling green hills and I believe I used the Landscape setting for the Landscape shots. All their wines were lovely, especially the Chianti, but my favorite wine here ended up being a Rosé and I just had to take a photo of the beautiful pink color. I love how the light reflected off the glass and the wine! 

The second winery was just a few minutes away called Tenuta di Nozzole. You had to walk down a flight of stairs to enter and you were greeted by hundreds of oak barrels full of wine. As I walked past the barrels knocking on the oak, I could hear how full they were. Around the corner were rows and rows of wine bottles both very old and new. I walked carefully through them in fear of bumping into one stack and creating a domino effect of wine bottles! My go to camera setting was Hand-held Twilight. After tasting several amazing wines, it was time to go to the third winery. Walking back up the stairs and into daylight was an adjustment, but I quickly ran to snap a photo of the sun starting to go down.

The last stop was Diadema D’Amare where I got to see where they did their packaging. It was interesting to learn about how well a wine label could do based on their marketing and packaging design. I’m not sure if it’s the designer in me, but I’ll admit I will sometimes pick a wine or any product really based on their label. The restaurant here prepared a lovely family style dinner of several different Italian dishes and the tour ended with shots of this lemony-sweet liquor. Our group said “Alagocha!” (which our Italian guide taught us) and my husband and I took it like a shot not knowing you’re supposed to sip it!

Florence Street Nuggets

There was always something that caught my eye walking around the streets of Florence. Whether it was the architecture, random graffiti, or old and new artworks, I found a composition and story in everything. I found color, interesting angles, lights, reflections, and took pictures of objects that seemed like people walked past without a thought. There was a surprise around every corner. I tried to soak in as much as I could and I’m sure I missed something! I absolutely loved Florence. I’m so glad we got an AirBnb apartment in the middle of Florence and got a chance to experience how it was to live there for a few days and feel like a part of the people and culture.