The Cube

Thought I'll take a break from the streak of travel posts. :)

It happened on a Monday afternoon when I was in the middle of wondering if I make a mess out of a report that I was suppose to run. I got a call from the front desk telling me that I had a package delivery and asked if I could pop down to pick it up. I was dumbfounded and wondering who would send a delivery to me... and that I don't remember making a purchase that needed to be delivered.

Anyways, this is how the package looked like.


From the side...


In the package...



Side note: I so need that Access 07 training that would only happen next month...

Lucca is another city in Tuscany and is famous for its Renaissance-era city walls.


It feels like going into a secret city :P

This is the San Martino Church. One of the main monuments in Lucca.


The other famous building in Lucca is this San Michele church. It is said to resemble a wedding cake.


And this is the famous Piazza Anfiteatro, it is oval in shaped, so called after an amphitheatre. It would be a very nice picture if taken from the air - as potrayed in the magnet in the first picture.


Anyway, the day ended with us running like mad rushing to the train station after the withdraw-money-crisis which thankfully was alright in the end.


Side note: Wish it's Friday already ... sigh...

Siena is a famous for daytrippers who made Florence as their base. We took a bus to Siena and one of the first things that greet us is this....


... which is really good as sister was asking me where could we see floor paintings :D

The most well-known thing in Siena is Palio di Siena, which according to the Italylogue is a bareback horse race around Siena's main square, il Campo. It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1600s, and it pits the city’s districts, or contrade, against one another in what can’t even be described as a “friendly rivalry.” The horse raice runs twice each summer. May in Europe is nowhere near summer, that being said, of course there wasn't any horse race run when we were there. However, there is no reason why we shouldn't visit il Campo :)


Grin. There's also a duomo in Siena, which is no less interesting in its design but I personally still prefer the duomo in Florence :)


Siena is not too far from Florence (that's the reason of being a popular day trip) but there was a different feel as we strolled along the streets.


And it was funny to see how many people stopped to take a shot of this view between 2 walls :P
It started with a man who walked in front of us stopped to take a picture. When we reached the spot, we had a look and captured a shot. As we finished taking the picture, there was 3-4 more people who stopped and take a photo of it!



And another nice view from loitering on the streets :P


Before we left Siena, there were some guys singing to some loud music. Have totally no clue as to what happened though.. which is a shame :(


Side note: A bit restless... but can't put my finger to it...

More picture on the duomo :P

Duomo or not, I would say this is a good place to visit to see Florence on the whole - Piazza Michelangelo. It's hard to miss it when you see another replica of David.

All across Europe, quite a few of the monuments allows you to go up to the top to see the city view. This piazza certainly is the place to see Florence. Standing there, looking out to the city, I can't help thinking, "Florence is absolutely beautiful."



We stayed for a while, had the leftover salami sandwich from lunch and took the bus down the hill again. Time to visit other places in Tuscany but also not forgetting to visit the famous pig before leaving Florence.



Side note: First day in new office...

Another picture during daytime, in good weather.


To me, this duomo is the heart the Florence. Somehow each time when I see this duomo, it brings a feel of magical and contented. I can't really put it to words but... looking at it, I would thought, "I want to come here again with tour guide." :)

Entrance is free of charge but charges applied to climb up to the dome or to climb up to the bell tower. We climbed up the Belfry in Brugge and in Firenze, we opt to climb up the 463 steps to the dome instead of the bell tower.

the interior of the Duomo

Up at the dome... looking at the direction of the bell tower




I like how some parts are under the sun... but others are under the shades


Side note: New location next week

Crossing the Old Bridge, we explored "the other Florence" - Oltrarno. It indeed gave a different feel to where my favourite duomo was situated. A more little town feel, more like where people stay.


Even dogs are cute there :P


Walking down the street with a cone of gelato. Yum :)
We were running out of water supply, and coincidentally we found a little supermarket, ended up lugging around two 1 litre water bottle :P

A very obvious thing I noticed when we reached Italy was graffitis. They are everywhere - metro stations, on doors, walls, trains, everywhere.



Side note: The little P doesnt seem to blog lately.. hmm....

This beautiful duomo greeted us at the end of the street.


Every time we walked passed this square - Piazza del Duomo, we would stop to take a few shots, rain or shine, morning or evening, far or near. It was getting dark as the weather was not good, so we did not go in... not this round.

It is said that Florence is the birthplace of Italian Renaissance and is the home of Michelangelo's David. One of the 2 major tourist attractions are Uffizi and Galleria dell'Accademia. Uffizi houses many famous paintings while Accademia is the home to the famous David. Grin. I even downloaded the Iphone app for Uffizi... hehe.. but after the long walk in Vatican Museo, we decided to skip both the Uffizi and Accademia. :P

In lieu of that, the David outside Uffizi will have to do :P


Further down from there, it led to Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge).


The shops, if not all, mostly are goldsmith shops. We were not into the shops but the view from this old bridge is beautiful :)


Crossing Ponte Vecchio, we reached "the other Florence" - Oltrarno


Side note: Too little time...