Florence, Italy

If you could measure the number of miles that we have walked around and around and around this city.... I think it might measure in triple digits. Well ok, that might be a slight exageration. But there has been so much to see, that my calf muscles now ache when I walk. Although Chris might argue that much of the sightseeing has been inside chic clothing stores. Italian fashion...... sigh.

Campanile di Giotto and Duomo

The second day we were here, we were surprised to find that there was a huge marathon running right through the middle of Florence. At the Duomo, one of the most famous sights here, we braved the crowds to try and get up into the Campanile di Giotto. This bell tower was built in the 14th century, although the colorful facade was added in the 19th cen. 414 steps later, up a gradually narrowing and slightly claustrophobic staircase crammed with tourists, we got a fantastic view of Florence. Terracotta rooftops cascaded in a jumble all around the Duomo for several miles, and the marathon runners below seemed to be just a speck. Oddly enough, a helicopter filming the race hovered around eye level, only a hundred or so feet away. Sadly, the Campanile and Bernelleschi's Dome - which we toured later - were covered with appaling graffiti. All along the staircases and the balconies on the roof, there were carvings and marker scrawlings of "te amos" and "was here." In some ways I can understand how older graffiti appears; perhaps the ethic of preservation was not as strong a few decades ago. But there is no excuse for graffiti within the past few years.