Friday, February 10, 2012

Climbing the Duomo!

Today we climbed up 463 steps to reach the top of the Duomo!  The hike was quite challenging and scary at times, but the view was completely worth it.  The staircases are very narrow and wind around and around and around!  Talk about being claustrophobic and dizzy at the same time!

Going up the old, sketchy,  & tight stairway

More old stairs!

Even though climbing to the top was exhausting, it was completely worth it when you reach the top and take a deep breath of fresh air overlooking the entire city of Florence.  The view is breathtaking! 

Finally made it to the top! 

Such a fantastic view of Florence!
I climbed up the Dome with Mina, Josephine, and our new friend Stephen from Mina's wine class.  We had a blast getting in a little workout climbing up and then spent about 30 minutes standing on top just having casual conversations about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Bachelor.  Mina's ideal Bachelor date would be candlelight dinner on top of the Duomo, but with a space heater by her feet of course.  I think I'll send in that suggestion to Ben, the current Bachelor.  

Stephen, Josephine, Me, & Mina

You can also climb The Bell Tower pictured above.  We might do this when it gets warmer.

When you got about half way up, the stairway would lead you into the center of the Cathedral keeping you about 1 foot away from the wall you could look down into the beautiful Cathedral to see the church and then above to see the wonderful art on the ceiling.

Looking down into the Cathedral

The dome ceiling of the church

After our lovely little workout we treated ourselves with a wonderful lunch with a big glass of vino!  Tomorrow Mina and I plan to run the stairs of Piazza le Michael Angelo.  Once we make it to the top of the hill you can see a beautiful panoramic view of Florence!  We really need to start working out...too many carbs!






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