Saturday was our 11th wedding anniversary (hehe, I just spelled that wrong. I spelled it “weeding anniversary,” just as I did earlier this morning in a message to a friend…LOL!!!). Since it was a nice clear day, Stefano and I decided t0 have lunch in town. Note: we ate quite a lot…this bit of information is relevant, please bear with me…

Then, as we were lazily strolling back toward the Duomo, Florence’s lovely cathedral topped by Brunelleschi’s famous cupola = dome (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral), Stefano announced (casual tone of voice): “I just had an idea!”

“Oh nooo, what?,” I replied, glancing at him…I had seen that Stefano “look” many times before, and it means trouble. “Well, why don’t we climb to the top of the Duomo’s cupola?,” he asked, grinning… 

“HAVE YOU BLOODY LOST YOUR MIND?!!!,” I almost shrieked, “we have JUST finished eating a huge meal! We will have a heart attack and die (for my Italian blog readers: “ma che se’ impazzito???…Ci verrà sicuramente una congestione di quelle terrificanti!!!”)!!!!” “Awww, c’mon, we will climb up slowly, it will be fun…I haven’t been up there in years…” he coaxed. “Neither have I…but…” I looked up at the cupola, pondering the matter. Then Nancy popped into my mind…oh how she would have loved to view Florence from above…so I answered, “okay, I will make the climb for Nancy…”

We got in line…quite a wait, considering that it is only May (= not high season, that is)…and then we began our climb. 463 steps…some of which are quite steep, particularly toward the end. I don’t remember how long it took us to reach the top and step out onto the small circular marble terrace that you can see in a couple of my photos…certainly a half hour, which included a few stops to catch our breath and rest our pounding hearts…and also a stop to admire the inside of the dome. Yes, at one point, when you are convinced that you cannot possibly climb another step or your heart will burst (thumpety thump thump!), you reach a landing leading to a small door…and you step out onto a very narrow shelf that offers a spectacular, close-up view of the frescos painted on the dome ceiling (see photo, which gives an idea of what we saw…)…breathtaking!

At that point, you are more or less two-thirds of the way up. Puff puff. You continue in single file (yes, it’s narrow!). More steps, heart pounding harder. Ah, that reminds me. At the ticket booth there is a sign warning people with heart trouble NOT to attempt the climb. No kidding…

At one point I came upon a Spanish woman who looked terribly upset. She was panting, too. I stopped and looked at her sympathetically, so she told me, in Spanish, “I am not having trouble with all these steps, but I am beginning to suffer from claustrophobia…it’s so airless in here.” I uttered a few reassuring words to her (yes, in Spanish)…she calmed down, and we continued our ascent.

Well, when you step out onto the top terrace…aaaahhhh, the view just takes your breath away, and you forget about all those steps…the city of Florence is so amazingly gorgeous. Those who live here all the time tend to forget how lovely this city is, I think…I know that I do…