Medicis' Florence - Gates to Heaven

So, we watched this dramatic thriller series - 'Medici : Masters of Florence' on Netflix. At the time, we were impressed by this period drama, done tastefully and artfully. Little did we know, that in few months we would be in the lands of Medici.

We planned this trip, and we were thinking of Italy as very strong contender, in the list of countries. With the charm of Rome and mysticism of Pompeii and romantic background of Venice, we finalised Italy. And then suddenly.... Oh... Oh oh... We realized Florence is on the cards too.

We went to Florence, (and even to Doge's palace in Venice) reminding ourselves of enticing and bloody and long legacy of Medici. It changed our perspectives, and we looked at Florence in a different light. How different? For one, we could actually visualize the Duomo as blood and sweat of generations of workers who survived plague, wicked politicians, and the troubling complexities of then evolving religion. Secondly, we did appreciate the overwhelming expanse of the architecture with more relatable historic events - all thanks to Netflix series on Medici.

Other interesting thing which happened during Florence stay was, we met Jacob. Jacob is an American student studying in Florence, who did a free guided tour for us of Duomo, and gave us excellent suggestions about how to best manage our time in this beautiful looking city. (We being slightly shy camera people, couldn't/didn't ask Jacob for a selfie. In retrospect, not getting a photo together was not the smartest thing to do. We loved your enthusiasm, Jacob.)

Florence has a lot to offer. We already have plans to visit the city again. It is an overwhelming experience. 

So here are our ten recommendations while planning a trip to Florence -

1. Watch Netflix series before or during your trip.

2. Firenze plus card works extremely well if you are going to spend 2 and half days or more. 
http://www.firenzecard.it/?lang=en

3. Do all climbing tours - dome of the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, bell tower, and many more perhaps.

4. Have a really good pair of walking shoes and Be ready for a lot of walking.

5. DO NOT MISS Bargello. On occasions, Museum closes at 1.00 pm, plan accordingly.

5. Rick Steve's audio guide for Bargello is a must. Especially his commentary on 3 Davids and great original works of Michelangelo and Donatello.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/florence

6. If you are an art nerd, one day for Uffizi is an underestimation.

7. In a stay, over two nights, it is possible to walk almost the whole town. Do it, if possible.

8. Real David is not outdoors, visit Galleria dell'Accademia. (Especially for Indian tourists, who go with tour packages).

9. There are a few good bookshops around. The one called, paperback exchange, is an interesting place to visit. Used books in very good condition, are bought and sold. You can get popular, classic title for and under €1.

10. A lot is interesting and popular (not necessarily good ;)) movies are set in Florence. e.g. A room with a view, inferno, and so on. Watching them gives a very special feeling. For movie buffs, it might add some more fun to this already rewarding city.

Libreria Acqua Alta - Venice

A very kind owner, son of Luigi Frizzo, made our visit to acqua Alta bookshop, a sweet memory. He told fascinating things about how his father would manage the shop during rising water - 'acqua alta', the fun and rationale of shelving books in boats, gondolas, bath tubs and so on. Visiting this bookshop was pretty high on my bucket list, and boy!! Was I happy?

After roaming around for a complete day, tired, we came back to our hostel. Our hostel (hostel generator) was situated on an separate island. It was slightly late in the evening, almost dusk. It was drizzling, making it cold and windy. But we buckled up. I couldn't bear the thought of not going to this bookshop after having come here crossing thousands of miles. After a small boat ride across, we started asking for directions. I had Google map directions. But as they say, getting lost in the narrow alleys of Venice is an experience in itself. After going around winding lanes for around 20 minutes from St Mark's square, I could sense, we are near. A local told us, maybe it isn't open today. My heart broke a little. We paced faster, as the shop welcomed us to this -

The whole drama of getting lost, thinking we might not make it, the kindness of owner, exotic nature of the shop, chilly air, the book staircase was so overwhelming - it brought tears. We spent quite a lot time here. Met an interesting southerner, David, from Salerno, Italy. Had nice chat. Pumped enough book smell into lungs.

We lingered, and lingered. It was almost time to close the shop. After I was done with the smelling, hugging, reading, skimming, and finally  shopping, the owner gifted us this poster (the very first image). On one side, it's a collage of shop's icons, while on the other it's Luigi Frizzo, kissing Marilyn Monroe. The poster now adorns the wall in our home, reminding us of the great kindness of the owner and wonderfulness of the shop itself.