Despite the warm night our rest wasn’t too bad as the bed is quite comfortable. Breakfast was pretty basic despite the reviews saying it was very good. Some yoghurts, cereal, freshly cooked but cheap croissants, jams, nutella, some cheap ham, cheese singles and toast bread. There was also some fresh fruit including kiwifruit and cakes. I didn’t mind as to be fair we have been over eating and having a lighter breakfast does me no harm. The coffee machine makes great coffee so that makes up for a lot, it is one of those ones that grinds the beans first.
We mentioned the air-conditioning issue to the host who promised to get a technician in to look at it. Another guest also reported it at the same time so it was nice to know it was not just us! We worked out where we needed to meet our walking tour which was about a 15-20 minute walk and set off for a leisurely wander in that direction stopping off first at the post office across the road to get a box to send some more clothes and bits and pieces home to make our loads lighter and packing quicker. The post office in Italy is similar to ours where you pay bills, bank, and I think cash a benefit voucher ?
For service you took a numbered ticket and wait till that came up at a teller’s window. It was quite efficient as there were separate numbers for English speaking staff, and other categories and we got a box sorted quickly which we dropped it back home before doing the ‘shade’ walk up town.
There is a walk way underground at the station that takes you about 5 minutes in the direction of the Duomo. It is lined with shops and air-conditioned so that was a natural option for a start. We noted the increased police presence at the train station – fully armed like other police in Europe; it is sad that this is the world we now live in.
Todays expected high was 37 and it felt like that and more. We were going to find a recommended place to eat close to the plaza where the walk departed from but 3/4 the way there we saw a nice cool 50’s American Diner complete with waitresses in a mini skirted uniform with apron and nurse style cap on roller skates and thought it would be fun to have an iced drink in there. When we saw the menu it had a Tuscan inspired burger so we went halves on that so we could enjoy the cool longer. It had garlic sautéed spinach, Italian bacon, Reblochon cheese, Tuscan beef patty, a truffle tapenade, grilled onions, and mayo. It was really tasty and the iced coffee was refreshing despite it being just coffee and ice cubes. Apparently if you want an ice coffee like we have here, you need to add the word ‘latte’ when ordering.
After our fuel and comfort stop (on a toilet with maths on the seat) we got to our meet point in good time and found a shady spot to wait. Angelo was the name of our guide and whilst Italian he was brought up in either Australia or England and if the former, must have spent time in England – so spoke very good English. We were a small group of about 12, which was nice and armed with head sets we set off in the shade a short distance to see the original statue of David at museum.
Being part of a tour enabled us to ‘skip the line’ and we were very thankful of that as queuing in the heat would have been pretty unbearable and the line was long – probably an hours wait if you were lucky for the ones towards the end. Inside the museum Angelo found us seats near some of Michael Angelo’s unfinished works and gave us quite a lot of history on Michael Angelo and the period in Florence when he started his work, before we were allowed to go round the corner and actually see the statue of David. This was a good idea as it built both suspense and understanding and quite frankly once you see the statue your attention is on that – not the guide.
I am not knowledgeable on art, nor was I overly excited to see the statue but went as it was something you are recommended to do if going to Florence. Having heard more about the history of Florence and Michael Angelo changed that a quite a bit and seeing the statue became a real thrill. Whilst viewing David our guide Angelo continued educating us about the sculpture itself which added to the experience. We are both really glad we went to see it, and that we went on a tour with the information given. An experience I highly recommend. The museum has other art as well, and we got a bit of free time to explore before heading for the Duomo.
The Duomo as explained to us was built to be both a political statement and town hall as much as a church, when you go inside you can see that for sure. It is not very cathedral looking, has statues and art of politicians and important people inside vs. a lot of biblical art. Outside is another story – I remember the thrill of seeing the stunning pink, green and white Duomo in 2013, with its stripes and beautiful figures, and it thrilled me as much this time. I think it is the most striking of all cathedrals from the outside; with St. Marks (Venice) and La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona) coming a close second. One unique feature inside is a 24hr clock that shows the hours of darkness, not daylight. This was done to help the workers on the land plan their work day efficiently. After the Duomo we took a walk through an older section of town making our way towards the Ponte Vecchio (bridge) which was the conclusion of our tour.
It would have been easy to not go due to the heat, but the combination of shade, seating opportunities and inside building viewing made it quite doable and the time went quickly and enjoyably. The thought of a walking tour made it sound like a lot of walking but it wasn’t really that far or much distance and even below average fitness could cope with it easily.
After the tour we made our way slowly back to the hotel with stop for a gelato. We did a bit of preparation for our early start in the morning, checking timings and pre packing what we could, and then did our own goggling for a place to eat before deciding to just wing it and use our noses in the general district between our hotel and the Duomo. On route we stopped off a the Duomo to try and take some photos and whilst it looked stunning in the golden hour light, it cast too strong shadows for me to get some really decent photos. I am a bit disappointed in the results – the same as St Marks – but at least I have some great photos from 2013 of both cathedrals.
Light is so crucial to good photography, some would say that photography is “about capturing light”. Sometimes when touring and travelling you do not get to choose the best time of day and position. I think that is one thing I have realised about our adventures – whilst I aim to take amazing post card pictures – the busyness of our schedule doesn’t really allow for this. This is different from actually going on a photographic holiday where the purpose is to do photography. Now that I have worked that one out, I am sure I will approach my travel snaps as such and not expect such a high standard from myself.
I had also wanted to visit a soap shop by the Duomo but it was no longer there – so disappointing as they make it here, and at home the same item costs me 3 times as much. It was one reason we did a post home; so we could load up with some goodies like this. Our food hunting was not going too well as I wasn’t excited by many of the places we passed by then we took a random street or two and we saw an interesting looking small place that just seemed to call us in. I checked the menu and saw a diner’s plate that looked nice so we went inside and luckily got the last table.
There were only about 10 tables in the small restaurant, and it was not crowded and noisey like many other places. The menu was both traditional and innovative and the meals some of the best I have had in Italy – on any of our trips. We found out the chef is only about 26 – amazing work. I had Calamari with pistacho filling on datterino tomatoes, basil and anchovy concassé for entree, then for mains we had home made pappardelle with traditional Bolognese sauce and Guinea-Fowl leg with mix of eggplant textures and fresh pear julienne. Both of the titles of the mains did not sound overly exciting but the detail and quality of the meals were 5 star. For dessert we shared Chestnuts mousse with candy almonds, savory rosemary crumble and curcuma (turmeric) cream. If you are thinking of going the place is called Il Vezzo.
What an amazing way to end a special day in Florence. In hindsight I would like to do a full day tour including the Ulfuzzi gallery, but maybe we can plan that for when we go back and do more of Tuscany one day? We had another summer evening amble through golden orange lit old and charming streets back home to do a pre-pack, and check our timings for an early start 5:30am in the morning.
Travels with Valrock 