In Florence, art is around every corner. There are people in the streets selling original paintings, many galleries to visit, and it's hard to explain, but you just see it everywhere. I walked by a building with its door open, briefly looked inside and waked past. Then it hit me... I walked back and looked again, and there was a rhinoceros hanging from the ceiling (photo below). I also visited a huge garden and found at the end there were these brass and clay sculptures from a famous Italian sculptor/painter/actor. Florence has turned out to be the highlight of my trip through Italy, in addition to some of the nice things I saw in Rome.
I definitely recommend to everyone to spend a week or two between Florence, Rome, and Venice at some point, you won't regret it. Much of my trip to Florence was guided by my friend Jack who lived here for a few months. He recommended some great places to see, things to do, the Baboli Gardens and the most important of suggestions... to enjoy Florence both in the day time and at night. Walking around Florence at night is a lot like walking around Boston at night, except a lot of things are still open even on a sunday night and there are people talking and eating, meeting other people, stopping at bars, laughing, hanging out, playing music, seeing the sites, etc.
It's really a wonderful city and I feel very fortunate to have seen it. Here's some pictures I took during my time in Florence:
