Florence: People & Places (a photo essay)
This photo blog focuses on the offbeat people and places we encountered over 12 wonderful days of flaneuring in Florence in the Fall of 2014. It was an enchanting experience, from my favourite gelato shop waitress, to the husband and wife seamstress half a block down the street from our apartment who spoke no English, yet managed to help me find a new handmade belt. In between are photos from thrift stores to boutiques, galleries to street art, markets to churches, parking to cycling, fashion to food.
In reviewing, my photos I noticed there were two major differences from our Dublin experience. One being the number of seniors in the streets of Florence and the second being the centuries of urban design that create a wonderful array of textures and light in its City Centre.
We hope you will enjoy the photos and would love to hear which ones are your favourites.
If you want to see more photos and stories about our Florence adventures, click on the links below:
Window licking along Florence’s Via Tornabuoni
Florence BFFs: Best Flaneur Finds
The ugliest pedestrian bridge in the world?
Flaneuring Florence’s Markets: Flea, Food & Fashion
Public Art: Calgary / Florence / Rome
Busking with style.
Salvador Dali's Bike?
No wonder Picasso painted faces as he did!
Just one of many very stylish parking garages.
A Florence office building?
Lots of open doors...
I wish I could read Italian.
A work of art and very tasty!
Magritte would have loved this photo.
Ghost busker....
Sisters sharing donuts?
Instead of tree lined streets, Florence has motorcycle lined ones.
Would you drink out of this street fountain? Supposedly you can.
Obviously I am not the only one taking a photo of this intriguing reflection.
My fashionista advisor.
Florence comes alive at night.
What was he thinking/feeling to create this drawing?
Art is everywhere in Florence, yet there is very contemporary little public art.
Market madness...
There is no lack of empty shoe boxes in Florence.
Florence's finest were there to greet us when we arrived.
These ladies were moving quickly.
Fountain of youth?
Window licking anyone?
No line up at the Marino Marini Museum...we liked that!
Once you get to the edge of the City Centre, the streets are much less crowded.
Cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians share the road.
It was hard to go to sleep after discovering this church was open on one of our nightly walkabouts.
Blue Man Group?
Does it get any better than this? Taken from a balcony restaurant at lunch.
Small space, narrow places...smaller is better?
People watching fun!
Innocence?
Climbing the wall fun.
Elvis?
Fashionistas heading to the thrift store.
Who needs wide sidewalks? enhanced streetscapes?
My other fashionista advisor.
Who needs a car to carry a lamp home?
Iceberg soup!
Everyone is out for their evening stroll.
That is a mighty big steak?
No dedicated bike lane? No problem?
Fashionista at the world's most amazing thrift store.
Now that is a tight parking spot.
This photo is not upside down.
Self serve wine - how good is that!