Day 3: Florence

Should you go to Florence the same day they are hosting their 40th Marathon? Heck yeah!!! And should you run it? Of course not! BUT… if they are also running a 10k on the same course as part of the marathon festivities, and you can sign up to run that… then definitely YES!

We woke up at 5am this morning to get ready and drive to Florence. We secured a reserved parking spot last night so we didn’t have to worry about finding a spot upon our arrival, but we still needed to make sure we got to the garage before they started closing the roads. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to walk to the gear check and the starting line. We arrived right on time at 7am and started our Florence day adventure.

The Allegory of Parking in Florence

First stop was walking north across the Arno, and making our way to the gear check stations located in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. We got ourselves situated with the right layers and pinned on our bibs. We checked our bags at the correct stand and walked to the starting line on Via Tornabuoni (aka. Florence Rodeo Drive).

Ponte Vecchio in the early morning

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella — AKA gear check

The gate for the 10K was in a different location than the marathon, but the finish line was the same. With only about 1200 people in the 10K, there were no corrals. We all started at the same time.

Getting ready to run

Cordwood ran off ahead while Matt and I stayed together for about the first half. Belinda was always planning on taking it slow and leaving the course when she felt like it. She went about 6K, then took a shortcut to meet us at the finish line. It was a good vibe and we all had a good time.

The Chuck McGill special

After the race, we retrieved our bags, changed into clean clothes, and made a pit stop back at the car to drop off the things we didn’t need for the rest of the day. Then we set off for the rest of our Florence Day, starting with a return to the Pizza del Duomo — which is where the marathon finish line was still rocking.

Belinda pre-purchased Giotto Pass tickets that included access to the Bell Tower (scheduled for noon), the Baptistry, and the museum. We still had a couple of hours before noon, so we started with a cappuccino, then on to the baptistry. With the marathon, we had to be a little crafty about how to cross streets to get around, but we figured it out.

Piazza della Repubblica — site of old Roman Forum

The facade of the Duomo

Once in the baptistry, we discovered that the mosiac ceiling was being repaired, so we didn’t get to see that, but we did see the other mosiac pieces as well as the in-laid marble floor in different patterns. From above, the various marble patterns makes the floor look like it is covered in carpets. It was almost time for the bell tower stairs, so we made our way over. We attempted to check our bags, but the check-in area was across the marathon route, and it didn’t look like we were going to be able to cross. We strapped our bags in under our coats and hoped for the best. We had to wait until exactly noon until they let us in, and fortunately, they did — bags and all.

The replica Gates of Paradise

Marathon finish in Pizza San Giovanni

We climbed the 414 steps to the top of the bell tower for 360-degree views of Florence. It was slightly vertigo-inducing, but cool to see the places we had ran past.

View of the finish from the Bell Tower

Brunelleschi’s Dome at the Florence Cathedral

At the top of the Giotto Bell Tower

We loved you in Elf

With our second workout under our belts, we were ready for lunch. We found a cafe/deli/bar for cappuccino round two (a very fancy one) and some tasty food including lasagna, pasta, sandwich, salad, and a milkshake. After filling up and relaxing, we went to the Duomo museum. Inside, they had the original Gates of Paradise doors (we had seen a replica outside the baptistry earlier). They also explained how the dome was built — namely the fact the Florence Opera didn’t actually know how to build a dome for the size of a Cathedral they starting building.

Views of the Duomo from the street

Excellent wine cork architecture

The real Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti

The “Yo, Listen up, God’s talking” Florence team

By now it was about 3pm and we were ready for the next part of the adventure — a bike tour! We arrived about 10 minutes early and got fitted with our bikes. When we were ready it was 2:59pm. We waited exactly a minute to see if anyone else showed up (they didn’t) and off we went! We were unsure if anyone else actually signed up or if this is just the most punctual tour ever. Our guide Julia led us through the city and gave some history on the area and buildings that we saw. The tour took two hours.

Revisiting the Piazza Santa Novella Maria on the bike tour

Over the Arno River with Ponte Vecchio behind

In front of the copy of The David in Pizza della Signoria

Pretty much everyone had finished the marathon when we started the bike tour and the streets/pedestrian paths were getting pretty crowded. By the time we were done, the race was cleaned up and there were people everywhere. We were tired and ready to get the car to head back to Cortona.

View of Ponte Vecchio at night

Party with the gold shops on crowded Ponte Vecchio at night

As easy as it was to park this morning, it was just as hard to leave. By parking in the garage, we had permission to enter the restricted zone. Only a few cars are allowed, and the streets are open to pedestrians. Since it was so crowded, it was difficult to navigate around the people and onto the streets we needed to leave. We eventually made our way out and onto the main road towards the Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks the city. The sun was well set by this point, so the view with the city lights was great.

Thanks Florence!

From there we drove all the way back to Cortona. Fortunately, there was no 45-minute traffic delay this time and we arrived at about 7:30pm. We dropped our things off at the house and went out for dinner. We found a restaurant in town called Panne e Vino which matched our craving for pasta and wine. Everything was delicious and we left full and satisfied.

Dinner in Cortona

We decompressed at the house for a few minutes before going to sleep. Tomorrow will be much more relaxed than today. The only plan is a winery tour with lunch in the afternoon, and then a private chef comes to the house to make us dinner at night. Probably won’t get 30,000 steps again tomorrow.