Florence | Ray and Shelley's Retirement Adventures

We spent a week in Florence exploring this beautiful city. There were so many things to see and do. One of the things we enjoyed was a pasta making class where we made different pastas and then ate our creations along with some nice Tuscany wines.

We stayed close to the Porta Romana in Florence which was walking distance to the main parts of Florence.

The Porta Romano, southern most gate in the 13th century Roman wall in Florence.

The Porta Romana, once known as the Porta San Pier Gattolino was the southernmost gate in the 13th-century walls of Florence. In 1861, Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy, which after 4 years in 1865, Florence became the new capital of Italy, replacing Turin. Florence remained the capital of Italy until Rome became the capital in 1870.

The Ponte Vecchio, which means “Old Bridge”, is an icon of Florence. It was built in 1345. The bridge spans over the River Arno with 3 arches, an innovative design for the time.

The covered passage on the Ponte Vacchio bridge.

Today the bridge is easily recognizable with all the shops that are built on it. We walked the bridge several times exploring the stores and shops. There were many jewelry stores and expensive shops. The bridge has a covered passage above it, which was a private aerial walkway built for the ruling family, the Medici Family.

Ray and Shelley on the Ponte Vacchio bridge in Florence.

We explored the streets of Florence and came across many gelato shops. The delicious frozen dessert was invented in Florence in the 16th century. It was first invented by Cosimo Ruggieri. We of course had to try several gelatos during our time in Florence.

Plastic Gelato cone outside a gelato store in Florence

As we explored Florence it was obvious that the statue of David was a tremendous pride of the city. The white marble statue was created in Florence, by a Florentine, and is displayed at the Galleria dell’Accademia. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known simply as Michelangelo, was born in the Republic of Florence, and created the statue of David in 1504.

There were many copies and variations of the statue of David in stores and for sale throughout Florence. There were several full size copies of the statues of David located in some beautiful locations like the Piazzale Michelangelo. This monument was created in 1869 by Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi.

Ray in front of the monument with copy of the statue of David in Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.

The view from the Piazzale Michelangelo were breathtaking and quite beautiful.

Shelley admiring the view of Florence from PIazzale Michelangelo.

While exploring the streets of Florence we came to a bronze statue of a wild boar, located near the main market.

This bronze “Little Pig” as it is referred to by the locals is said to Bring luck when a tourist strokes his nose and puts a coin into his mouth. So how could we resist this opportunity.