The Sights (and Sounds) of Florence

Florence: Beautiful sights, noisy streets outside of my window in the early morning...

Florence has a great history and many beautiful sights (the sounds of small, crappy vehicles waking me up at 6am every morning, not so beautiful). During our walks throughout the city, we have stumbled across the big name attractions and found some hidden gems as well. A few highlights include:

• The Duomo, Baptistery (Ghiberti's famous doors) & Campanile (better than ISU's?) - the defining sight in Florence
• Ponte Vecchio ("The Old Bridge") - the famous bridge over the Arno River
• Palazzo Vecchio ("The Old Palace" - above)
• Santa Maria Novella - church near my apartment
  
• Santa Croce
  
• Medici Chapels

Some of the hidden gems have been amazing gelato shops and this back-alley shop (Sandra) where we got AWESOME, affordable paninis made from fresh bread, meats, cheeses, vegetables and spices.

Something funny to note - when visiting the Duomo or any other church, always be sure to be properly dressed. If you aren't up to standard, you will be given a hospital gown style cover-up (shown below on Beth & Kelley during our visit to the Duomo) We made sure that everyone was up to code for our next visit to the Duomo when we went for Mass!