Florence (Firenze)

We had a good trip from Rome to Florence on one of the better trains, however it was crowded and luggage problems arose.

We found our way to the B&B we were staying at and met our host. He informed us that he was having plumbing problems (we suspect he over booked) and had found us alternate accommodation. After a small wait we were introduced to our host’s mate Mario. Mario took us in tow and we were led to a large apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a very large living area which included a kitchen. It belonged to an old lady who rented it out infrequently and only to older, more reliable tourists. It was a great apartment.

About 3pm we set off to see the David at the Galleria Dell Accademia exploring as we went. The queue was huge for the non reserved entry so Peter went to the front of this line to find out how long the people at the front had taken to get there. Two hours. Reserved entry people we taking about 15 minutes to get in. We searched our map and found a tourist information centre close by. They informed us that a booth selling the reserve ticket was about 15 minutes walk away.

At the booth we brought tickets for the David and for Uffizi Gallery for the next day at the extra cost of 4 euros each. We couldn’t take photos in either gallery which was a bugger. The David is probably the best piece of sculpture we had ever seen with the Pieta in Rome a close second. The photo we have included is one of the copies in the Piazza della Signoria. We enjoyed other exhibits in the gallery, however some of the religious art was losing its lustre for us.

We met a Belgian couple, Famke & Alex, over dinner that night. They were from the Dutch part rather than from the French speaking area. Belgium has had a hung parliament for over 100 days because of the divide between the cultures. Again these sorts of meetings of different people make the whole trip far more enjoyable. Lots of laughs and we stayed longer than a normally short dinner.

Close to our apartment was a laundrette so while watching our washing from a bar across the road we met up with youngish couple, Jack and Lindsey, from St Louis in the States.

On our second day we visited the Uffizi gallery and explored the city. Two thirds of the way through the Uffizi Peter hit cultural saturation point. It was day 35 of our trip visiting over 50 galleries. Enough is enough. This effect seems to hit the males of the species earlier than the females although Claire is showing some signs of tiring.

Ponte Vecchio

Fortezza da Basso

That night we had dinner with Bob and Barbara an older couple from New York. They pulled out the video camera and got us to introduce ourselves on film.

On our third day we visited the Palazzo Pitti galleries and Boboli Gardens. The galleries we visited were more treasures than art and Peter had started to recover. The costume gallery while small had a very good display of costumes from various periods together in each display.

Pitti Palace

The gardens were a pleasure and certainly worth a look although fairly tiring as they climb a hill with great views of the city.

Medici Grotto

As usual our daily walking distance was between 10 and 15 km.

Our apartment was not far from the Duomo and we walked past it almost every time we went out. It was difficult not to stop and look each time though taking a photo of it was like taking a photo of an elephant from 3 feet away.

There’s not much eating alternatives in Italy and we are starting to search without luck for something different.