Arriving in Florence

 We arrived at Florence's Santa Maria Novella train station at 2.15 in the afternoon and took the short walk to our hotel Davanzati.

We unpacked and the set about exploring the Old town, the place is a warren of narrow streets and ancient impressive buildings.  We crossed over the Ponta Santa Trinita bridge that spans, the river Arno. 

We wandered the narrow streets and the crossed back over river using the medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge and continued  along the riverside walk.

We continued exploring the fascinating streets with numerous impressive buildings until we reached the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

This cathedral is simply breathtaking ,dating back to the 1200's . The exterior is covered in a decorative mix of pink, white and green marble. The building dominates the City of Florence

In the evening we walk over to Trattoria Marione al Trebbio for a very good meal before strolling over to Piazza della Repubblica to watch the street performers.