This map is pretty accurate, except for the back and forth zig zag between the Caffe Scudieri and the Santa Croce Basilica. Not sure why it looks like we walked back and forth between the 2 points over and over, but the points on the map are accurate.
The hotel is very nice and comfortable, but we are on the top floor (5th) and close to the heating / AC mechanism on the roof, so there is a constant mechanical hum all night long. To us, it’s white noise, but I can think of a few people I know who would have a very hard time with it!
We have breakfast included this time, and while I was happy to have eggs instead of pastries for breakfast, they were rather tasteless so it’s a bit of a let down.
We started with a quick walk through the Piazza della Liberta not far from our hotel while we waited for a tour bus to liberate the breakfast room.
After breakfast, we went to the Basilica of San Marco to see the mummy St Antoninus, the Patron Saint of Advices.
Next was the Medici Chapel which I have been looking forward to for YEARS! I have wanted to see Michelangelo's NIGHT sculpture for ages so this was a highlight for me. It was under reconstruction, but I still got to admire it properly. This is said to be definitive proof the Michelangelo was gay and never saw a naked woman. The body looks like a man's with oddly added boobs over developed pecks.
Lots of other interesting things to see, including an impressive collection of relics.
And what on EARTH IS THIS???
The rest of the chapel was beautiful...
We then made our way to the Duomo to see what the line ups were like: they were nuts so we took some pictures of the incredibly beautiful and ornate façade instead. It's ok, we've visited before and the inside is extremely blah compared to other Cathedrals, but it would have been nice to climb the dome.
Next, we went off to have coffee in a fancy café nearby to watch the world go by.
After this, it was off to the Church of Santa Croche to admire the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo and others.
Once we had our fill, we stopped for a drink in the square but had to leave quickly when a gaggle of 4 Quebecois women sat at the table next to us. They were bursting my vacation bubble and sucking me back into thoughts of home and work. Can't have that!!!!
Next, it was an uphill trek to the Piazzale Michelangelo to capture the most breathtaking views over Florence. It was totally worth it, but SOOOOO HOOOOT that by the time we got up there, we didn’t even get shots of the David! We were dying.
We had lunch at a beautiful al fresco resto overlooking the entire scene, and we were able to escape the heat until we took the last bite of food, by then the sun had crept into our cozy, shady spot on the terrace and it became a scorching spot under the blazing sun. That put the kibosh on dessert!
Too hot and full and tired to commit to another activity, we just walked aimlessly for about an hour (including more widow shopping along the CROWDED Ponte Vecchio)
We finally collapsed in café looking for ice cappuccinos but got milk shakes instead. In hindsight, we realized we ordered "shaken coffee". Whatever. We needed cold, caffeinated, sugar in any form so we took what we got!
Next, we planned to visit the Museum of the Palazzo Vecchio which included a tower climb, but the tower was closed for today so we took a few pictures in the Loggia dei Lanzi instead and made a plan to come back another day.
The following stop in our agenda was to visit the Old Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, now a functioning perfume shop.
Once done with that, we made our way to the Basilica Santa Maria Novella but there was a wedding taking place so we could not visit inside. Instead, we relaxed on a terrace for drinks and admire the Piazza.
SO MANY PEOPLE were waiting outside the church with cameras ready that it made us wonder if a local celebrity was getting married. There was even a Cinderella coach drawn by 2 white horses waiting outside… we didn’t stick around to find out. I should have taken a picture of the horses!
At 6:30, we met up with Frank’s friends that we saw in Rome last week, they happen to be in Florence too at the same time as us!! Spooky… are we being followed? It was a fun night.
It’s time to be horizontal now.
Goodnight!
No comments:
Post a Comment