wow, talk about taking a step back in time...  florence seemed simply untouched by modern times, it is a well preserved city rich in italian heritage.  and driving though the tuscan area... omg.. picture perfect from every angle! 

even with some if its confusing streets and alleys, florence is very walkable but very crowded.  you'll find no shortage of areas overlooking the river arno, though.

we decided to head across the ponte vecchio bridge at the end of our day, a wise decision on our part...  the view was gorgeous!  the bridge is lined with shops and street vendors, so there's plenty of oppurtunities to pick up some gold jewelry or small leather goods along the way.  we took our time, stopping at the center, of course, to take in the view (of ponte santa trinita- holy trinity bridge) and the sunset.    

a view of ponte vecchio (old bridge) from the uffizi.  if only the water wasn't so murky/muddy.

some of the main tourist attractions in florence are the duomo, uffizi, and the academia.  we booked tickets in advance online to avoid long lines...  so glad we did, it was such a hot day.

our first stop was the uffizi gallery.  there was a long line to get in, as expected, and we had doubts that our presale tickets would cut us in to the front of the line, but it worked!  we heard from others coming in that it was a 2-3 hour wait. 

inside was the most beautiful collection of renaissance art in world...  everything from michelangelo, da vinci, and botticelli.  afterwards, we took a nice break and had lunch out on the terrace with a view of palazzo vecchio behind us.  but there were a couple of things that i did not like about this museum.  1. it felt a little on the dingy side.  and we also heard that the restrooms did not have toilet paper or paper towels.  2. it had poor lighting.  more effort should have gone into highlighting these works of art, especially for overcast days when natural light isn't at it's greatest.

the duomo is probably the most recognizable landmark in florence.  the exterior of this cathedral had the most intricately laid pieces of pink, green and white marble, and the entire project is said to have taken over a 150 years to build.  we were able to walk right in with no lines to wait through! another interesting find are the gates of paradise at the florence baptistry across the way...  the bronze doors another fine work of art.

       the uffizi                               the duomo                                             the gates of paradise

...and then there's David ...

michelangelo's david, that is, living at the academia.  again, be sure to have tickets!  there are many other important pieces to see here, but david, of course, is the life of the museum.  he stands at the end of a long hallway under a dome built specifically for him.  considered the greatest sculpture of all time, you'll find it difficult to take your eyes off him.  just amazing --  truly not to be missed!

nowhere on the map or in tourist guides did it say visit the lucky pig, so we didin't even know of this little guy...  but we ended up hearing about it through the massive grapevine of tourists strolling about the streets of florence while market shopping.  there was so much buzz about it that we agreed that we couldn't leave florence without paying a visit to the little piggy who went to market.  word is, if you rub piggy's snout, it will bring you good luck.  and if you place a coin in it's mouth and it falls into the slot, you will return to florence.