A Duomo themed Monday

With only two full days left of vacation, and exhaustion creeping in we decided that this day needed to start with an ultimate cappuccino. Dana found a coffee shop on Yelp that boasted of Duomo latte art. As we would be climbing to the top of the Duomo that afternoon, this we had to see and this we needed to jump-start us for the day and the climb.

Once again, we pulled out our trusty map and walked in circles for a while before we found the coffee shop. Looking at a map of any big city in Italy plays tricks with your mind as streets are all laid out like macaroni noodles jumbled together and they often change names at intersections. We were far from our grid-like San Fernando Valley roots, so it was constantly a bit of a challenge, but there was always something fun to see along the way.

Big Bud and Little Bud shadows on the streets of Florence trying to figure out maps.

We found the coffee shop and a tatted up Barista responded to my ‘Due cappuccini’ – I felt fully fluent by now in coffee shops with my ability to say ‘two cappuccinos’ in Italian. They always responded to me in English – I wasn’t fooling anybody. Within 5 minutes – true to the Yelp reviews and photos – we had our Florence themed coffees. One had the Duomo and the other had a flower, also significant. As the official name of the Duomo is The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore – or ‘Cathedral of Santa Maria of the Flower.’ Also, the Coat of Arms of the City of Florence is a red Fleur-de-lis. The theme of flowers is big here.

The Coat of Arms of Florence. A red Fleur-de-Lis.

Cool barista working his Duomo latte art. His trick – he squirts chocolate on top and works the rest with a stick. Don’t try this at home.

We sat in the coffee shop at a corner inside table in the late morning and it was quite hot outside already. Inside was only a little better, but preferable even with the coffee shop dog under our table startling me a few times. As in, ‘What is that rubbing on my leg? Please don’t have fleas.’ Regardless – you really didn’t want to linger too long as it was also stuffy inside. The humidity made everything still and you just were hoping for a good rain soon.

Voila. Due Cappucini with pastries. One Duomo and One Flower. Impressive.

After our morning coffee and pastry, Dana headed to the Museo Galileo that she wanted to see that would be helpful in the subject she would be teaching to her 4th graders this year. Museo Galileo holds one of the most important scientific collections nationally and internationally. Hats off to all teachers that immerse themselves as they have opportunity to help bring subjects alive for their students. Me, I went back to the apartment and took the opportunity to relax and blog in the air-conditioned apartment.

Dana’s first venture walking solo in Florence with the map to the Museo Galileo. I said text me when you get to the museum. Here was the proof text. LOL. Well done, Big Bud.

Dana lasted about 60 minutes at the museum. Turns out dreams of an A/C filled museum to browse wasn’t realistic in a severe medieval building during a heat wave. Regardless, she braved the museum, purchased some fun books and also came back to the apartment with grilled paninis and a bottle of Rose wine that she said the sandwich man said she ‘must’ include with our sandwiches for a balanced meal. When in Florence….

My POV of our delicious and well-balanced lunch of a grilled Panini and rose wine. Our table was getting out of control with receipts and paperwork. Evidence of 14 days of spending was all around us.

Seriously loved each bite of this Panini. Oh to be able to create this little bit of heaven back home.

Next it was time for our Duomo Tour – Small Group VIP Tour and Secret Terraces that we purchased in advance. While we had been dreading the climb up the tower in the heat, this turned out to be an excellent experiential and highly informative tour of the Duomo.

Our tour guide Christina speaking into her little mic that we could hear in our receiver ear buds. She said had been working for ‘this company’ for 20 years and said she was technically a colleague of Michelangelo as they worked for the same company, the Roman Catholic Church. The church holds a feast every Sept 8, to honor the day the first cornerstone was laid for in 1296. A mere 721 years ago. She blames this yearly banquet on her inability to keep her waistline trim. I hear you sister. I hear you.

I loved the headsets which allowed us to hear our guide, Christina, perfectly. She was amazingly educated and passionate about the history of the Duomo, and went into great detail about the architecture, the art, the artists, and the history of Florence.

The doors of the baptistery which face the front doors of the church. Michelangelo referred to these doors as fit to be the “Gates of Paradise’ and they are still referred to by this name. The 10 panels depict Old Testament scenes.

The tour started in an underground in the crypt where you can see the ruins of the foundation of the original church below the current cathedral, Roman era. I could have spent hours down there looking at all of the displays that explained the history of how everything was built using ancient methods – truly a wonder.

There were so many cool exhibits in the underground crypt area. The guide did a great job to give an overview. You literally could spend hours down here reading the exhibit signs to try to understand how they built the Cathedral over a couple hundred years.

Then, once inside the cathedral we were given more info on the history of Florence and the significance of that church as well special access behind the ropes where most people can’t go and more history on the structure and paintings inside. The Last Judgment scenes painted on the inner dome by Vasari and Zuccaro are among the largest paintings on Earth, and are super intense – so much to look at and absorb.

View of the painted dome, representing the Last Judgment.

The tour guide pointed out the man in the bottom left corner holding time. He represents Father Time indicating time for the Last Judgment. There is so much detail in these frescos it can get overwhelming, you can only focus on a few details.

Finally, you head up 150 steps to the secret terraces where very few visitors get to go. This is an amazing view of the rooftop of the Duomo. It was quite windy up there and harder to hear our guide as the wind whipped into her microphone, but really the view overlooking Florence was breathtaking to behold and enough for your mind to focus on.

Panoramic view from the terrace of Duomo.

With the dome that Brunelleschi built (behind us) – it is still a marvel that he was able to erect this dome. Our tour guide said there are still many unanswered questions of how he did this that could only be solved by taking it apart and putting it back together. So they have decided to leave it as is and continue to wonder about his ingenious engineering solutions. Good call!

Once the tour ended on the terrace, the guide bid us farewell and said we were welcome to climb to the top of Giotto’s Bell Tower. A mere additional 414 steps up a winding narrow stone staircase. Imagine a long line of tourists on the staircase with you – so no stopping – and folks coming down the same staircase at times. It was a little like the country one-lane road driving only fewer places to pull over. Still, as with all things in Italy, it works.

View of one of the few portions of the climb that wasn’t winding around the tower.

Hi! We’re hot but looking forward to a great view at the top.

One of the few views and chance for fresh air out of a little port-hole window on the ascent.

We braved on and continued up the steps to the top of the cupola and were rewarded with one of the most epic vantage points ever. Truly breathtaking up there to see the City. When you are down on the ground and look up at this Cathedral you feel so tiny. Once again, when you are at the tippy top, feelings of being a tiny spec in this City hit you but at the same time you feel you are soaring above the City like a bird. Truly a magnificent experience.

Trying to pic out a picture that captures the view from the top feels next to impossible. But here is a good panoramic to give a sense of the view.

Feeling like a bird soaring around up in the clouds. Yay, we did it!

This is the trap door of sorts that you climb up out of and back down into when entering and exiting the top.

When we came back down, I was hungry – it was late afternoon, I was ready for a gelato. Dana – who never said a word the whole trip about what I did or did not feel like eating said – ‘Careful, don’t spoil your appetite.’ My head snapped back to look at her in shock and as if to say, ‘Say what?’ She reminded me of what she had told me earlier in the day. She had planned a very special 50th birthday surprise that evening and wanted to make sure I was hungry.

Cute gelato boy with hat serving up gelato. I watched him do this with flair many times before it was my turn. I had to wait patiently.

I processed that quickly and said, ‘Okay, only 1 scoop then.’ A compromise. I assured her I would still be hungry but needed something to cool my jets. This little place was on the corner of the street we were staying at and I had been captivated by their décor and outfits during the times I had walked by before. That is always a sign of good gelato, right? Cool décor and outfits? Maybe it was, as that was my favorite and last gelato of the trip.

Cheers to you Duomo and cheers to Don Nino Gelateria & Pasticceria for the most awesome gelato of the trip!

Also, I caved in and when turn came I actually ordered two scoops – Frutti di Bosco and Mango. Couldn’t decide on the two. In my defense, I did just order one at first and the guy behind the counter said with sad eyes, ‘Only one?’ I agreed, let’s go wild, I’ll take two. It was the perfect ‘I climbed Duomo’ celebratory treat. The taste and texture (also so important) were out of this world and I knew I still had plenty of room for the special dinner Dana was protective over that evening.