We hit up Florence on Day 4. As usual, we walked all the way to Pisa Centrale station even though technically we could board the train from Pisa San Rossore station which is by our apartment but we just wanted to explore Pisa as much as we could.
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| Piazza Dei Cavalieri, Pisa |
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| On the way to Florence |
The journey took about an hour and we naively bought one-way tickets, thinking Santa Maria Novella station would be just as mellow as Pisa Centrale or Pontedera - Casciana Terme stations. Boy, were we wrong.
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| Approaching Santa Maria Novella train station |
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| Santa Maria Novella station |
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| Just outside Santa Maria Novella station |
The minute we stepped off the train at Santa Maria Novella, it was clear the station was a major hub, much bigger than Pisa. It was crowded and hectic, and frankly it reminds me a bit of the Jakarta Kota train station in Indonesia. We hurriedly got out of the station and headed downtown, only to be greeted by more crowds.
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| Palazzo Vecchio |
Duomo was truly spectacular. Pictures can't do justice, I'm telling you. The feeling was really majestic as we walked up to it and it was peeking out from behind the buildings.
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| The Majestic Duomo |
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| Marzipan shop |
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| Sephora in Florence |
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| Popsicles shop |
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| Gelateria |
Sadly I really couldn't stand the crowds so after a couple of obligatory pics, we moved away as fast as we could.
Next up was Ponte Vecchio, an old bridge known for its gold jewelry shops. It was also packed with people so we hurriedly walked through it and on to Piazzale Michelangelo.
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| Entrance to Ponte Vecchio |
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| Locks on Ponte Vecchio |
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| On Ponte Vecchio |
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| A View from Ponte Vecchio |
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| A monument on Ponte Vecchio |
Once we made it through Ponte Vecchio, the crowds became much lesser and it was much comfortable. One caveat though: the path to Piazzale Michelangelo was quite steep which is why there were less people there.
Quite a chore but infinitely much preferred to crowds in downtown Florence.
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| A steep ascend to Piazzale Michelangelo |
Just before we reached the top, there was a Rose Garden. Since it was early Summer, the roses were in bloom and you can start to see the vista. There was a trubadour outside the entrance and when we were there, he was singing the Italian version of 'Night in White Satin' which is one of my favorite songs, which enhanced the ambience considerably!
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| View of Florence from the Rose Garden |
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| Rose Bushes |
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| Lemon Tree |
And finally, we reached the top! It was freaking beautiful, words just can't express.
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| Behold, the Majestic Panorama of Florence |
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| Restaurant at Piazzale Michelangelo |
After soaking up all the beauty of the sweeping panorama of Florence, we started our descend back to downtown Florence.
This time around we bought tickets from Florence to Pisa San Rossore because we were quite tired from having climbed the steep pathway to Piazzale Michelangelo. Here's Pisa San Rossore, I love how mellow the station was!
I bought a small pendant from one of the shops on Ponte Vecchio on our way back. Not something of the fanciest materials but I like the design, very 'Florence' or 'Italian', I think which will make a good memento of my first trip to Florence.
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