Firenze, Pisa, Siena
December 25-27, 2005
This is the first part of our Italy trip in the end of year 2005. We flew from Amsterdam to Pisa on the Christmas day, and traveled by train from Pisa to Firenze, where we stayed overnight. The weather on the first day was not so good. It was cloudy in Pisa, and it turned to rain when we arrived at Firenze. It was already dark at Firenze, and most places were closed because of the Christmas day, so we just walked to find our hotel. The hotel was located on a very quiet street. Fortunately we saw several restaurants near the hotel, so at least we knew where we could have the dinner :).
That evening we had two dinners. The first one was a quick one, a take away Chinese food. Well, nothing special about Chinese food in Italy :). As a supper we had pizza in a restaurant exactly in front of the hotel.
We started the second day in Firenze with entering Accademia Gallery, one of the famous museums in Firenze. The Accademia has several beautiful paintings from Botticelli and sculptures from Michelangelo. But the highlight of the Accademia is one of the Michelangelo's masterpieces, the sculpture of David. The tall, handsome, and very detail image of the legendary biblical king that crafted from white marble is located at the end of the hall that also contains others Michelangelo's works.
After the Accademia we walked heading the Duomo (cathedral) of Firenze. The marbled-wall church is a beautiful building, with a big dome and tall bell tower. The marbles are multi colours so they give pretty patterns for the wall.
From the Duomo we walked along the shopping streets of Firenze until reaching the Arno river. The Arno cuts the old part of the city and there are several bridges connecting two sides. The most famous bridge is Ponte Vecchio with wooden shop buildings on the bridge.
Ponte Vecchio and Arno River, Firenze
Crossing the Arno, we saw the Pitti Palace but we did not enter because of insufficient time. We crossed back the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio and walked via the buildings of Uffizi Gallery to reach the Piazza della Signoria. This piazza contains several statues such as a copy of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio (the town hall) and a fountain of Neptune.
After spending half day wandering the old town of Firenze, we collected the rented car that we used for the rest of the trip. After a quick lunch near the car pool, we drove to Piazza Michelangelo, a park on hill on the other side of Arno. The view from there was very nice, we could see the city landscape and spot the famous landmarks that we had just visited.
View of Firenze from Piazza Michelangelo
From Firenze we drove to Pisa, of course to see the famous leaning tower :). We went straight to the Campo dei Miracoli, the location of the tower together with the Duomo and the baptistery. The site was full of tourists as usual. We just took some photos there, entered the Duomo, and then left the place. Originally we planned to climb the tower but the waiting time was two hours, too long for us.
The famous leaning tower of Pisa
From Pisa we went to Siena, the end destination for the day. We stayed overnight at Badesse, a village near Siena. After checked in at the hotel, we visited the Siena to have dinner. This time we had no pizza, but we found a restaurant that more specialized to the wine list. We ordered several dishes with a bottle red wine. Yes, the wine was nice, although the food was not very special.
The following day we visited a village called Castellina in Chianti to buy wine. It was a nice village, and we visited one wine shop. We bought several bottles and did a short visit to the wine cellar.
From Castellina we drove to Siena. Although not as big as Firenze, the old town of Siena is a nice place. We had lunch in a restaurant near Piazza del Campo, the town square. After lunch we visited Palazzo Chigi Saracini, a beautiful house with several nice paintings, pictures, and musical instruments. The palace is currently housing the Accademia Musicale Chigiana foundation.
Piazza del Campo, Siena
From Palazzo Chigi we visited the Duomo of Siena. It resemblances similar wall patterns as the Duomo in Firenze, only simpler and in general it is smaller. The interior is nice, with beautiful arches on all sides of the wall and on top of it there are faces of popes. At one side we visited the Piccolomini library, a room to store the old choir books, which full of frescoes on the wall about the story of Pope Pius II. Near the entrance to the library we found The Piccolomini altar with sculptures by Michelangelo.
From the Duomo we strolled along the old stony alleys of Siena before we back to the car and drove further to the south...heading to the famous Rome city.
This is the first part of our Italy trip in the end of year 2005. We flew from Amsterdam to Pisa on the Christmas day, and traveled by train from Pisa to Firenze, where we stayed overnight. The weather on the first day was not so good. It was cloudy in Pisa, and it turned to rain when we arrived at Firenze. It was already dark at Firenze, and most places were closed because of the Christmas day, so we just walked to find our hotel. The hotel was located on a very quiet street. Fortunately we saw several restaurants near the hotel, so at least we knew where we could have the dinner :).
That evening we had two dinners. The first one was a quick one, a take away Chinese food. Well, nothing special about Chinese food in Italy :). As a supper we had pizza in a restaurant exactly in front of the hotel.
We started the second day in Firenze with entering Accademia Gallery, one of the famous museums in Firenze. The Accademia has several beautiful paintings from Botticelli and sculptures from Michelangelo. But the highlight of the Accademia is one of the Michelangelo's masterpieces, the sculpture of David. The tall, handsome, and very detail image of the legendary biblical king that crafted from white marble is located at the end of the hall that also contains others Michelangelo's works.
After the Accademia we walked heading the Duomo (cathedral) of Firenze. The marbled-wall church is a beautiful building, with a big dome and tall bell tower. The marbles are multi colours so they give pretty patterns for the wall.
From the Duomo we walked along the shopping streets of Firenze until reaching the Arno river. The Arno cuts the old part of the city and there are several bridges connecting two sides. The most famous bridge is Ponte Vecchio with wooden shop buildings on the bridge.
Ponte Vecchio and Arno River, FirenzeCrossing the Arno, we saw the Pitti Palace but we did not enter because of insufficient time. We crossed back the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio and walked via the buildings of Uffizi Gallery to reach the Piazza della Signoria. This piazza contains several statues such as a copy of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio (the town hall) and a fountain of Neptune.
After spending half day wandering the old town of Firenze, we collected the rented car that we used for the rest of the trip. After a quick lunch near the car pool, we drove to Piazza Michelangelo, a park on hill on the other side of Arno. The view from there was very nice, we could see the city landscape and spot the famous landmarks that we had just visited.
View of Firenze from Piazza MichelangeloFrom Firenze we drove to Pisa, of course to see the famous leaning tower :). We went straight to the Campo dei Miracoli, the location of the tower together with the Duomo and the baptistery. The site was full of tourists as usual. We just took some photos there, entered the Duomo, and then left the place. Originally we planned to climb the tower but the waiting time was two hours, too long for us.
The famous leaning tower of PisaFrom Pisa we went to Siena, the end destination for the day. We stayed overnight at Badesse, a village near Siena. After checked in at the hotel, we visited the Siena to have dinner. This time we had no pizza, but we found a restaurant that more specialized to the wine list. We ordered several dishes with a bottle red wine. Yes, the wine was nice, although the food was not very special.
The following day we visited a village called Castellina in Chianti to buy wine. It was a nice village, and we visited one wine shop. We bought several bottles and did a short visit to the wine cellar.
From Castellina we drove to Siena. Although not as big as Firenze, the old town of Siena is a nice place. We had lunch in a restaurant near Piazza del Campo, the town square. After lunch we visited Palazzo Chigi Saracini, a beautiful house with several nice paintings, pictures, and musical instruments. The palace is currently housing the Accademia Musicale Chigiana foundation.
Piazza del Campo, SienaFrom Palazzo Chigi we visited the Duomo of Siena. It resemblances similar wall patterns as the Duomo in Firenze, only simpler and in general it is smaller. The interior is nice, with beautiful arches on all sides of the wall and on top of it there are faces of popes. At one side we visited the Piccolomini library, a room to store the old choir books, which full of frescoes on the wall about the story of Pope Pius II. Near the entrance to the library we found The Piccolomini altar with sculptures by Michelangelo.
From the Duomo we strolled along the old stony alleys of Siena before we back to the car and drove further to the south...heading to the famous Rome city.
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