Firenze...

Florence, Italy (in Italian Firenze) is where I was able to spend my freshman year of college. Now, that I'm back here in New York I miss it much, much more. I wish that I had spent more time taking pictures and trying to capture some of the energy of the city and it's people, but I was too busy enjoying it myself to have my face behind a lens. So, here are my first pictures I'd like to share from that year. I really did not take enough pictures of Florence itself. Here are a few favorites.

This flower display of the city's official symbol was outside of Florence's version of a city hall, the former palace of the Medici family the Palazzo Vecchio. The palace sits at the edge of a large piazza where many tourists gather to eat gelato, listen to street musicians and be hassled by people trying to sell you flowers or plastic toys that fly up in the air and light up.
This is Giotto's tower. The bell tower to Florence's cathedral, il Duomo, this tower was visible from my apartment window. The photo was taken from street level last December on a Nikon D40 with the included Nikkor 18-55mm lens. Most of these photos were taken with that camera and that lens or the Nikoor 55-200mm VR lens.

The final photo is of the world's fourth largest cathedral, Florence's Duomo, the Duomo is one of the most magnificent buildings I have ever seen. The area outside the Duomo is almost always packed with tourists shoulder-to-shoulder taking photos and listening to guides. I had to walk past the Duomo every morning on the way to school and I would imagine that I am in thousands of people's photos. Even after walking past it almost every day for ten months you still find yourself marveling at this amazing cathedral.

Well, I hoped that these first few shots from Italy are enjoyable. I look forward to sharing some more photos on here and also documenting some of my travels and getting some new shots with the D300. Ciao!