Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
So just as we had gotten used to finding our way around the winding streets of Venice , we had to pack up and move on to the next city...
We arrived in Florence just before lunchtime today, found our hotel easily, and dropped our bags off. We're actually staying in Piazza Della Republica which is just perfect as that means the furthest sight is no more than a 20min walk!
We decided to just wander around and found ourselves in a little marketplace where we stumbled across a gem of a cafe on a little side street. It was a tiny hole in the wall with only 4 stools to sit down, and all the locals seemed to be grabbing their lunch there so we ordered some paninis and drinks which were really cheap and very fresh.
We then walked to the Santa Maria Del Fiore Cathedral (duomo). We decided to grab some gelati just outside the duomo and we knew it might be a little more expensive but were shocked when the man behind the counter announced that it was $30AUD!! Anyway, after hardly enjoying the ridiculously priced dessert, we made our way into the church..we walked around the inside admiring the sheer size of the church (153m x 38m), and then stood under the large dome 90m above us and marveled at the enormous painting. We decided it wasn't enough to see the fresco from so far away so made our way back out of the church to line up for the 463 step climb to the top! Again, the views from the top were well worth the pain (views of the fresco and of Florence).
We then kept going to check out some of the other sights - we visited the Piazza Della Signoria (where we admired the Palazzo Vecchio, Fountain of Neptune, some of Donatello's sculptures and a copy of Michaelangelo's 'David'). We then walked past the Uffizi and down over the famous Ponte Vecchio.
At night we went to a little restaurant called Osteria Del Cinghiale Bianco. It's lucky we thought to make a booking as they could only fit us in at 9:30pm, but there were people coming in all night and it was so packed! You wouldn't have even known it was there as the front window and door were no more than 2m wide. We cracked a bottle of local Tuscan red and had their bruschetta sampler. For mains we had a beef red wine stew and a venison rib fillet with chargrilled veges. For dessert, we opted for a tiramisu - which was like eating velvety chocolate. We then made our way back to the hotel, surrounded by the lights of Florence and the bustling restaurants serving the punters. We then called it a night in preparation for our tour de florence (bike tour) in the morning.
Ps. Still kicking myself over that frickin gelati!! Seriously $30?!!
- comments