Today we spent the day in Florence. We managed to get tickets to the Uffizi galleries at 10:30 am, so we walked there nice and early. The Uffizi is not like some of the other art galleries in Europe. It blends ancient Roman art with mediaeval and Renaissance works. And some are quite beautiful. We spent an hour or so wandering the halls of the gallery, with the Botticelli’s being the highlight.
After the Uffizi, we walked back to the hotel, freshened up then got a hop-on-hop-off bus to explore the surrounds of Florence. We went to the church of St. Croce where Michelangelo is buried, then crossed the Arno and went up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the most spectacular views.
We then went to the Boboli gardens before riding the bus up to Fiesole, the old Etruscan site. When we finished the tour, we walked through the Mercato Centrale markets before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Jana had organised to have dinner with the di Mattia’s, who happened to be in Florence today. They booked a restaurant for dinner, Ristorante Centropovasi. It was by far the best meal we have had on this trip. Jana had a pasta, Pe had a risotto with yabbies. But the highlight was our shared Florentine steak. Absolutely delicious.
The meal was topped off with a tiramisu for Chrissa, while I had a delicious chestnut pudding, similar to, but way more tasty than, a creme caramel. When we finished, we headed to the Duomo for a gelato for the girls. We didn’t get home until after midnight. All in all a wonderful day in Florence.