Thursday 7th Oct Firenze Day 2

All well this morning as the very helpful receptionist (she booked our tickets for the Uffizi etc yesterday) because of our flooding problem moved us to a really large room (we could have a party in it !) with walk in shower and seperate decent sized bath with also a much nicer view...... a good result.
10 am start with a climb to the top of the Dome of the Duomo, a small matter of 463 spiral steps ! The top part is very steep and quite narrow in places and a much tighter spiral.
About 3/4 way up there is a circular platform to view the most amazing ceiling of the dome. The 3,600 square metre fresco was started in 1568 Giorgio Vasari and finished by Federico Zuccari in 1579.
I have tried to capture the magnificence of the fresco

Near the top and the going gets tough !

Wow it was so worth the climb which also must have worked off some of the calories !

A beautiful sunny blue sky day, perfect for the stunning views of Firenze

View from dome with tower in background

The very impressive bell tower

More of the magnificent dome ceiling, this time taken on way down and from different angle. From this vantage point we were also able to see most of the inside of the Cathedral which although good was not as impressive as the Cathedral in Pisa and no where near as impressive as Seville or Cordoba Cathedrals. Seemed odd as the outside of the building so very intricate and awesome but perhaps that is why the inside is quite plain

Basilica of Santa Croce

Time for a quick coffee in the piazza and off again walking a large area of Firenze including the Basilica of Santa Croce, The Central Nationale Library (of course), the Santa Margherita de Cerchi Church and ending just before lunch at the Piazza Della Signoria which is a unique outdoor sculpture gallery including the Fake David, Neptune and the Fake Rape of Sabine Women.

The Fake Rape of Sabine Women

After lunch onto the Piazza Ognissanti. The Church of Ognissanti, in background was built by friars of the wool trade. It houses frescos and the tomb of Botticelli. The statue is of Hercules fighting the lion

Back alongside the Arno River to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and the Uffizi

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge

A ceiling fresco in the Uffizi. Understandably no photos are allowed to be taken of the priceless masterpieces in the Uffizi. There were another 50 or so steps up to the gallery but well worth it. One of the main attractions of the Uffizi is the famous painting The Birth of Venus. We're sorry Jim B but todays song has to be Venus in Blue Jeans ! There are also many amazing sculptures, we spent a good 2 hours here absorbing the culture

A view of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge from the Uffizi.

Back to hotel about 5.30 ish feeling quite foot sore as we have stood or walked all day with just quick stops for coffee and lunch but a very good day.