Every corner of every building should have decoration of some sort.
 

Is this a trap on a drain pipe?
 

Florentine bikes have a lot of character.
 

The tour de Tuscany was rolling into Florence this afternoon. We had to detour our bike trip around it.
 

A sampling of jewelry that can be found on the Ponte Vecchio.
 

Benvenuto Cellini (1500 - 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, painter, sculptor, soldier, and musician of the Renaissance.
 

Beth enjoyed chasing the pigeons while we thought of Richard and Elaina.
 

Getting tired of Italian food, we sat down at "Tandoori Restaurant", a place that served Italian and Indian food. I think we were the only ones to order Indian food. It took 45 minutes for them to cook it from scratch, but it was fresh and delicious!
 

A bicycle made of bamboo?
 

 

Some interesting tourists.
 

The Polizia had the nicest cars in the city.
 

The bike tour guide was also a designer and he said this is making fun of the way a friend of theirs speaks.
 

 

The front of Il Duomo. Our bike tour was led by Fadi Bassil, an architecture student who spoke very good english. I highly recommend his bike tour: fadibassil@florencetown.com
 

This pharmacy is beautiful.
 

The Officina hosts frescoes, furnishings and ancient implements of the pharmacist’s trade.
 

The origin of the Antica Farmacia goes back to the Dominican friars who in 1221 settled in Florence but it was officially founded in 1612 following a suggestion made by the Granduca di Toscana.
 

During the eighteenth century, thanks also to the ingeniousness of the many formulas created by the chemist-friars, the renown of the Farmacia crossed many borders and exports even reached the Indies and distant China.
 

The essences, as well as the famous and much requested perfumes, are still prepared to a large extent following the formulas studied in 1500 for Caterina de’ Medici.
 

Among the other preparations still produced following the old formulary of the Dominican friars is Aromatic Vinegar or Aceto dei Sette Ladri, very useful in the case of fainting-spells, whose formula dates back to 1600. Acqua Antisterica, today known as Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, in the past boasted a sedative and antispasmodic effect and was created by Fra’ Angiolo Marchissi in 1614.
 

Soaps, hand-moulded one by one, aged for sixty days in ventilated cabinets and hand-wrapped are still produced with the machinery of the nineteenth century.
 

One of the world’s oldest pharmacies: Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. We wouldn't have thought to go here unless Fadi brought us here on the bike tour.
 

 

The bike tour stopped at this excellent Gelateria for free gelato.
 

Fadi showed us this very unique church in Florence. Its facade is not ornate at all, but still impressive. It also hides just how large this building is on the inside.
 

This is the inside of the church.
 

I believe this is called a "braccio". It's an arm's length and a unit of measure in Italian Renaissance. Fadi says these were embedded in the sides of buildings for reference.
 

After the bike tour we tried to visit the gardens of Pitti Palace, but it was already closed for the day. This statue is in an alcove that houses a grand fountain.
 

This marble tile mosaic store had amazing pieces of art. The detail was unbelievable. This is the best picture I could steal from outside.
 

We were molested by a large belly dancer from LA in a local pizza and pasta restaurant.