✨ Planning Day Seven: My First Full Day in Florence — A Honey-Style Masterpiece of Wonder & Awe

If Rome is where I began to trust my compass, Florence is where I’ll learn to follow my curiosity with both feet on the ground and my heart wide open. Day Seven is a day I’ve dreamed about — the kind that feels stitched together with history, beauty, and maybe a little bit of magic.

Morning: Walking to the Duomo for My Brunelleschi’s Dome Climb

From Hotel L'Orologio Firenze, I’ll walk to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — a gentle 10–12 minute stroll through elegant Florentine streets. No taxi needed, unless it’s raining or I simply feel called to an easier start. But there’s something lovely about walking toward a masterpiece… watching the dome appear as I approach like a warm, familiar surprise.

8:30 AM — Begin my walk

I’ll leave with enough time to arrive early, breathe, and admire the cathedral’s façade before joining the line.

9:00 AM — Brunelleschi’s Dome Climb (timed entry)

This is one of the most extraordinary architectural experiences in the world. I’ll climb between the inner and outer shells of the dome — Florence rising all around me as I ascend. The top promises a 360-degree view that I already know will bring tears in the best, most grateful way.

Late Morning → Early Afternoon: The Duomo Complex

My ticket gives me access to:

• Opera del Duomo Museum

• Giotto's Campanile

• Baptistery of San Giovanni

• Santa Reparata

• Duomo Interior

After the Dome: Opera del Duomo Museum

The museum is calm, beautifully curated, and filled with original sculptures, breathtaking reliefs, and architectural elements that once adorned the cathedral’s exterior.

I will see the original “Gates of Paradise,” Michelangelo’s Pietà, Donatello’s haunting Magdalene, and Florence’s spirit laid out in stone and light.

Since adrenaline, emotion, and curiosity will be high, I may decide to experience the Baptistery, Santa Reparata, and the Duomo interior while I'm already in the zone and physically right there.

However, I may save Giotto’s Bell Tower for another day.

The beauty is: I have the flexibility.

My ticket works all week.

A Lovely Midday Break: Lunch Near the Duomo

• Panetteria e Stuzzicheria De Neri — fresh, casual, wonderful.

Afternoon: A Slow Stroll Toward Palazzo Vecchio

After lunch, I will wander through Florence’s historic center, making my way toward the Palazzo Vecchio for my 4:00 PM Torre di Arnolfo climb.

This walk is pure Florence energy — narrow golden streets, elegant shops, and the sudden opening of Piazza della Signoria, one of the most breathtaking plazas on earth.

4:00 PM — Torre di Arnolfo (Palazzo Vecchio Tower)

This climb is different from the Dome — more fortress than church, more medieval than Renaissance. The views are spectacular in a completely different way: rooftops, courtyards, and the Duomo rising like a jewel.

Evening: Letting Florence Glow Around Me

After my climb, the light will be soft and honey-gold. I will be right in Piazza della Signoria — a square that’s nothing short of a masterpiece at dusk.

I plan to linger:

• Watch the statues turn gold

• Let street musicians wrap around me

• Take photos I’ll treasure

Dinner for Tonight

• Lo Sprone — loved by my daughter (near Ponte Vecchio)

Honey Note

There is something extraordinary about climbing into the heart of a city — not just walking its streets, but rising above them, seeing life from a new angle. Today is a reminder that I’m allowed to take up space in this world, to breathe deeply, to climb higher, and to let beauty move me. And someday my sweet granddaughter will hear that her Honey climbed not one, but two (maybe three) towers in Florence on the same day — with joy, gratitude, and a heart full of wonder. I hope she grows up knowing that her dreams deserve altitude too.

Con dolcezza e meraviglia,

Honey 🍯

PS — Florence at night is a soft spell. If I end up wandering home under the stars, smiling at nothing but the magic of being alive… well, that feels exactly right.