A start this morning of croissant and juice before making our way to the domed cathedral of the city, Saint Maria del Fiore. We hadn’t bought tickets and knew that the crowds would be significant to enter this majestic place. Fortunately at the base of the cathedral there are plenty of touts who are willing to sell you deals that are “unavailable to others” and so we were approached and bought a ticket (35 euro) that included the Dome, the cathedral, the crypt, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Museo dell’Opera. If you are coming to Florence I would recommend this is the way to get your ticket as it lasts for 72 hours and so you can purchase it when you have enough energy 😀.

Before embarking on the 463 step climb to the top of the Duomo (dome) we headed to the Museo dell’Opera. It is a beautifully laid out Museum that opened in 1891 and was closed for a period of theme in 1966 when it was flooded (a common theme so far on our journey around Italy). I. Oils have wandered around this museum for hours but sadly our reservation with the Duomo was calling.

I was incredibly excited when we were queuing for the Doumo climb up until our guide was was pretty terrific said … “any one claustrophobic and/or any issues with climbing 463 steps”. Well yeah I have issues with both of these and was instantly ready to throw in the towel. Fortunately for me, Stephen scoffed at the idea of me not climbing, and I let Pip know that at any time I may grab hold of her (just so that she was warned). Our guide warned us that the steps were quite narrow in places and it was dark – for me this instantly raised my blood pressure and I was ready to fall to faint out the front of the cathedral. What she didn’t tell us about was the friggin height and lack of appropriate fencing that would obscure any distance I was from the ground. So I bravely embarked on the climb (along with about 25 other people including of course Steve, Pip and Dave), it is a tough climb but at no time did I feel claustrophobic, and Stephen reminded me I had been through the catacombs in Paris so this was a easy peasy. The view was sensational and once you have the opportunity to overlook this wonderful city you completely forget about the stairs, the fact that you are paralysed with fear about being so high above it all.

My photos don’t do the view justice (so I had to steal one from Steve – thank you).

What I would say do this tour if you are able to it is worth the sweaty palms and racing heart as there is no better way to see this awesome city. The only really strange thing is that you aren’t able to go into the cathedral after you come down from the Duome, you have to leave the church and go outside to queue again which we didn’t do. So here is a sneaky shot as we left the building.

Lots more walking to see so many of the fabulous sights of Florence including stops at Michelangelo and Galileo’s tombs – yes pretty special.

Finishing the day with a rose, pizza and pasta at a fabulous restaurant La Bussola, apparently one of the finest in Firenze. I am not just saying this because we received a complimentary muscat to finish our meal, salut’