Here are some pics from my time in Florence.  They are not all the typical tourist shots, but some areas not always seen.  Sorry for the quality  :-(  These were taken 10 years ago, and my camera wasn't the best.  :-( :-(

Anywho, here they are.

 

 

Via de Bardi...the street my aparment was on.

 

 

View from my bedroom

 

 

My 5'x5' square kitchen, complete with mini stove, mini fridge and clothes washing machine under the counter i am standing on to get this shot.

 

 

Murphy's J.J.Cathedral pub....my second home. :drunk:

 

 

View from of Piazza de Republica during Italian language class.

 

 

Tight rope walk over the Arno River at the Ponte Vecchio.  This was pretty cool to see.

 

 

Local artists take turns displaying their talent on smooth areas of the street.

 

 

My classmate showed off his talent....the locals were not too happy.

 

 

Inside the Chapel of the Princes.  This is attached to the Church of San Lorenzo

 

 

 

The Pazzi Chapel, attached the church of Santa Croce.  I was lucky enough to get inside the chapel and the courtyards.

 

 

 

Church of San Spirito, south side of the Arno River. 

 

 

The Cloister at the Church of San Lorenzo.

 

 

The Church of Santa Maria Novella.  This is right next to the train station.

 

 

View of the baptistry taken from the Campanile.

 

 

Looking north.  San Lorenzo is on the left, train station top left, and the green copper roof is the market...pretty much a west side market.

 

 

Looking south.  Santa Croce to the left, Palazzo Vecchio to the right.

 

 

Oops, not all the Moroccans (sp?) make it safely to the Arno River.  This one got caught.

 

 

I came across this on my way to class one morning.  Not every day that a hot air balloon takes off in a city.

 

 

View of the Uffizi within the Medici passage.  Actually this is accessable when you visit the Uffizi museum.

 

 

Now we're off to the hills south of the city. 

 

 

Some Tuscan countryside.

 

 

Off to Piazza Micheangelo...best place to view the city.

 

 

Looking east from the Piazza

 

 

Church of San Miniato.  This is a small church near the Piazza Micheangelo.

 

 

Inside

 

 

Down by the river.  You can see the Church of San Miniato to the right.

 

 

Looking west

 

 

View of the Duomo from the Bobili Gardens in the hills to the east

 

 

Another view of the Duomo

 

 

Just up to the north is a little hill town called Fiesole.  There is a small Roman amphitheater.

 

 

Me watching a beautiful sunset over Florence from Fiesole.

 

 

Beautiful!

Fantastic shots...thanks for posting them.  It has to be such an experience to spend an extended period of time studying in Florence.

 

I bet an average Italian can make a way better meal in that tiny kitchen than the average suburban American mom in her huge kitchen.

 

Also, I like your classmate's artwork  :lol:

This building is a good example of the types of high-quality buildings in the centers of old European cities, a lot of the individual features are interchangeable and even mass-produced but the end result is always good, even if the proportions or the lot shape are weird.  A lot of buildings in the US copied these styles until modernism although usually with cheaper materials.  But even the dirt-cheap Italianate rowhouses in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati share some of the integrity and presence that the real renaissance Italian buildings have.           

 

 

I've always thought these well-known churches and other prominent were sort of like the Las Vegas of their day: