The Duomo.
This morning we had a walking tour of Florence with a local guide. It is a pretty amazing city. For the Aussies who have never been out of Australia before, seeing any building that is over two centuries old is impressive – but the Duomo cathedral is absolutely stunning even by European standards.
Next to the Duomo was the Baptistry, with its bronze doors that allegedly begun the Renaissance. We also saw the Ponte Vecchio, one of the last remaining bridges after the Second World War, and the Accademia, which houses loads of sculptures, including Michelangelo’s ‘David’.
Little Lion Man was more impressed with this statue, but you can see David’s feet in the background.
I would have liked to see Santa Croce, the church which holds the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante and Galileo, but it was way too hot to buy some kind of garment to cover my shoulders (something you must do in Italy to visit many of the religious sites). The tour finished with a demonstration of leather-making, including Florentine jewellery boxes. To be honest, I only went to the demonstration to get out of the heat (Italy is HOT) and soon us veggies were heading to the nearest pizzaria.
Next it was back onto the bus to head to the town of Orvieto, something that wasn’t on the planned itinerary but which was well worthwhile. If you’re ever nearby I was totally recommend visiting. It’s a beautiful place.
And now I am in Rome, sitting in the bar by the pool and melting like gelati. It’s pretty weird to think that a couple of days ago we were standing knee-deep in snow in the Swiss Alps. I can’t believe it’s almost been a week, this trip is going so quickly!
Going to call it an early one tonight as we have a six hour walking tour in the morning. Yikes.
Ciao! x
Faevourite 
Sounds amazing, Steph! I am enjoying reading about your travels xx