Florence: Day 5

by Vincent | June 13, 2015

As this was our last day in Florence, it was pretty busy.

Baptistry

Right across from the Duomo is the Baptistry (with those big doors, remember?) so this time we went inside. The dome was pretty neat from the inside as well as a big stain glass window (restored).

The Crypt

After that we headed straight to the crypt under the Duomo. Unfortunately, you have to stand in the same line that is for going into the Duomo, so we stood in line just to go in and skip ahead to the end where we went down into the crypts.

Unlike many of the crypts Celeste and I visited during our stay in Europe, this was way more guided than others. You’re supposed to walk along the raised walkways in a certain order — we just kind of walked around. To be honest it wasn’t super interesting, nothing much left underneath to look at besides remains of an old Roman village the Duomo was built over; that was kinda cool. Brunelleschi’s tomb is also under the Duomo; he designed the dome itself.

Bell Tower

Celeste and I weren’t feeling tired yet so we opted to climb the bell tower to get it over with — the tickets you buy for the Duomo are also good for the crypts and bell tower but only for a day.

The line to the bell tower is shorter and faster — most people just want to buy tickets; only a few are there to climb.

We ascended the tower, the corridors, and twisting staircase which were not for the faint of heart. There are several levels so we rested at each one until we reached the top. There was an old bell out for display.

We finally reached the top, exhausted but the view (again) was worth it (see cover photo above).

Allo Antica Vinaio

We climbed back down and met up with some of the family to go eat at the sandwich place we visited on day 3. This time I got roast beef and it… was… heavenly. Best sandwich ever! We sat outside on the curb and ate our sandwiches. Celeste tried the spicy salami and loved it.

Walk

After the bell tower we chilled at the apartment and rested — it was a busy day so far. Then we all went out for a walk to see the rest of Florence. We walked to the river then back through the streets. Finally it was time to eat.

Luscudo

Not wanting to stray so far we landed on Luscudo, a pizzeria right across from our apartment. We ordered pizza, of course. Celeste had a pesto pizza and I stuck with chorizo. They weren’t as good as the ones we made but they were still pretty good.

After pizza we of course visited Edoardo’s again — gotta have that gelato before we go!

It was dark by then and we were walking by the Duomo. My niece was feeling energetic so she started running around and tagging people — this led to a big game of tag where all of us were running around the Duomo like idiots, playing tag like we were in elementary school again. It was a fun time and a good endcap to our trip in Florence.