Florence

A bike lane took us into the city centre of Florence and Piazza di Santa Maria Nouva. The flag lets people know where we are from and people approached us, some wanting to take their photo next to the bikes, pretending they have ridden them. We found a very big campsite right in the city near Michelango Piazza.  We walked into the city from the piazza descending the steps to the river and crossing a bridge, one of the bridgeshas jewelry shops along each side and is known as the golden bridge. There were three other cyclists staying there, one from Sweden riding to China, one from England on a three month tour of Italy and one from Spain cycling around the world. It was great to speak to some other cyclists and exchange information.  

 Not as grand as Rome, but Florence is a nice city nestled along the Arno River. We had a lot of rain the first night, then it cleared up and we were able to walk around Florence in cool but dry weather.  We visited Santa Croc, another magnificent basilica with an elaborate gold alter, frescoes, paintings and Michelangelo’s crypt. Nearby was a museum of Michelangelo’s belongings and sketches held in trust by a family member. The big ticket list for Florence was the statue of David.  On display in Galleria dell Accademia the statue is magnificent. Carved from a single piece of marble weighing 19 tonnes, Michelangelo has crafted this statue with muscles rippling and veins visible. There are two copies around Florence, one in Michelangelo Piazza and the other at the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio where young women were posing with arms outstretched while their friends got the camera angle just right to look like they were fondling the naked statue amidst peals of laughter, they were having great fun.