The River

After leaving Volterra and heading north to Florence, we knew we only had 2 days to experience all the city had to offer.  This was our first "short" stop of our trip after 2 weeks in Rome, 5 days in Amalfi and another 5 days in Tuscany.  With this in mind, it seems we didn't take many pictures in Florence (compared to the numbers Luke had previously clocked per day on his camera in the other regions).

We hit a couple great museums and saw the big sights (including the Duomo Cathedral and the Ponte Vecchio on the River Arno).  We also got to hang out a little bit with Luke's friend Brian and Brian's wife, Jen.  It was a crazy coincidence that their vacation crossed ours not only in Florence, but also in the Cinque Terre a few days after Florence.

This is the front of the giant church in Florence, simply called the "Duomo" by most, because of the giant Dome that the church is famous for.

Another angle on the Duomo.  It was a beautiful church on the outside, but the inside wasn't that impressive compared to the churches we had seen up to this point.

This is the square outside the Duomo.  Everything in Florence seems to have this hue that makes you feel extra romantic.

It was an impressive church.  We visited the museum right behind it which contains all of the artwork and cool stuff that would typically be inside the church, but for some reason they put it all in this little museum.

This is Jen and Brian on our first night in Florence.  We got to have dinner with them and then did some exploring around Florence.  We had a great time and hope that our vacations connect again in years to come!

On our second day in Florence, we actually scaled the Dome of the Duomo.  It was a lot of steps and in this shot, Angela is standing between the outer dome and the inner dome, which helped the architect create such a big dome so many years ago.

Florence looked awesome from the top of the Duomo.  It has a reddish gold glow that makes you feel very "laid back".

Although I guess if you are scared of heights the glow might not help too much.

Luke is feelig laid back at the top of the Dome.

The Bell Tower and church under the Dome.

This is the bridge that led to our lodging's street.  We loved the bridges in Florence.  We wouldn't swim in the Arno, but it was cool to look at.

That is the Ponte Vecchio behind Angela (and in the next couple pictures).  It is a world famous bridge.  Ponte = Bridge.

Ponte Vecchio and Luke.

Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

Ponte Vecchio and rower.

Ponte alla Carraia and rower.

Reddish Gold Glow... don't you think?

Angela and Luke on the Dome.