The Italian Capital

Rome was hectic, hot, lots of noise and traffic, photography was difficult, I had to do most of it from the top of a sightseeing bus and I lost my nice new Firenze baseball cap, sigh. The pure white marble building shown at the end of the street is the side view of the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel ll, the first king of a unified Italy. It is also known as Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland).

The Bay Houses

The church is known as the Santa Margherita Bay Houses Church, quite an impressive piece of architecture. I think a lot of wealthy people holiday here judging by the number of very large and very expensive yachts moored round the other side of the bay. I'm not showing them, didn't want to stir up any envious feelings!!

Ancient and Modern

Part of the original fortifications, the castle dates from the 16th century.

Peaceful

The centre of Santa Margherita gives the impression that it is well looked after, a lot of the buildings are decorated like the ones shown here. The pace of life is calm and peaceful and the people seem content.

Santa Margherita

Pretty name, pretty place. Oriana is anchored out in the bay because there is no harbour as such, the red and white boats are Oriana's lifeboats, used to ferry passengers ashore.

Still Leaning

Loads of people were trying to take photographs of their friends with their hands raised to make it look like they were holding the tower up. I don't think the one with the two boys will be successful. Notice the flag on top of the tower, it is upright, do you think it should be at the same angle as the tower?

Tourist Trap

This main building is the Piazza Dei Miracoli. The area around Pisa is quite flat and we saw this dome from some distance away, didn't realise that it was also the site of the Leaning Tower.

McDonald's Pisa

Thought I would add this landtrain in Pisa to my growing collection.

Amazing how many different places you see the McDonalds Logo these days.

Cupid Love

The whole area near the Ponte Vecchio is a popular spot for street performers, art students and portrait painters. There were a lot of very good human statues on show but I liked this one because it was a bit different and he did interact with the public.

The Survivor

The medieval Ponte Vecchio spanning the River Arno is Florence's oldest bridge and one of the city's most photographed sights. Dating back to the 14th century, it's lined with goldsmith's shops and contains a hidden corridor used by the Medici. It is the only bridge in Florence to survive the Second World War.

Strange Ear Caps

I don't know why the horse has these red ear caps on, maybe it's just for decoration. There were quite a few of these horse and carriage rigs about, goodness knows how they got through the crowds. The building at the back, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1299 was originally named after the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, today the huge Palazzo della Signoria is known as Palazzo Vecchio and is Florence's Town Hall. Its masterpieces include Michelangelo's statue of Victory and Donatello's Judith and Holofernes bronze.

Architecture, Wow

I had to get a high viewpoint to get above the people for this photograph but it was worth the effort, the architecture is amazing. The dome in the background is part of the Firenze Duomo (Cathedral).

Interesting Tourists

I couldn't see much of the buildings most of the time so I turned my attention on the people. I was fascinated by all the different ethnic groups from all over the world, any guesses as to where this group came from. I would love to know how many different nationalities were in Florence on the day we were.

Wall to Wall People

Florence, or Firenze to give its true name, is a really beautiful city with wonderful architecture, but the people from countless tourist groups converging on all the main attractions at the same time meant that the centre was constantly packed as you can see. It was quite difficult with little time to linger or take photographs.