I'd made a booking in the last week back in Oz for The Florence free tour guide, thinking it would be a great way to get our bearings in this cradle of Renaissance art. Reviews were great so i thought we'd check it out. Every time i need to travel to get somewhere on time i feel quite anxious and I can't relax enough to enjoy the scenery etc. This time was different arriving in the city of Florence was like being in the pages of a travel guide. We kept asking polizia for directions since I have (as i have told you the most crap international sim card ever).
We arrived in Piazza della Republica on time even though we'd stopped for a little pastry each for a breakfast on the run.( We still didn't have any milk so we couldn't eat any cocopops from our Kellogs Kiddy Six Pack of cereal . ) A big congratulations to team Spigariol we were first!
Our guide who was sporting an Aussie Akubra told us that this square was the first meeting place in Florence. He then took us to a church which started off as a centre for trade in grain. An engineer by trade and an artist by vocation he was passionate about his city and it's historical stories.
We explored the two sides of the river, passing by the Uffuzi Gallery and Academia as well as the first granary , the Duomo complex, MichelAngelos house and crossing over Ponte de Vecchio which was built by the Medicis so that when they travelled to their dwellings across the bridge they wouldn't be harassed by the common riff raff. At each spot we got an indepth description of the history and speculation of that area. I started taking notes at first but then got lazy.
It was a fascinating walk and we got chatting to a fellow Aussie who was in Florence visiting her daughter. Our guide also called this a survival tour and pointed put recommendations for dinner, to drink and eat gelato. Any questions we had he was happy to answer.
Our walk culminated in front of Plazzo Pitti. I asked Eric if he was interested. Since we had no other plans we thought - why not?
When something happens perchance there are no expectations so we were thrilled to see the extended gardens it was quite a long haul up steep stairs flanked by an amphitheater and preceded by a large fountain.
We walked up so we could see the old wall around Florence, olive groves and a birch forest. We visited the porcelain museum then joined the hordes of people catching some shut eye on the flower spattered grass. I fell into a deep sleep and was most agitated when Eric awoke me.
Strolling back to wards the Palace we of course got disorientated and ended up in a costume musum. After that we headed towards the amenities where i had quite a shock I could hears men's voices whilst in the latrine and to my shock there were two armed carbiniere complete with swords. Were they here to make sure we washed our hands? ( this is a real problem as i have seen five women, beautifully dressed walk out without washing their hands, reminding me of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry's girlfriend's father - a chef - offers to make him a special dinner after Jerry has witnessed his lack of hygiene. )
Anyway they were rather embarrassed when they noticed the picture of the woman at the entrance. Eric had a joke with them but i was worried about being skewered. The place was filled with Polizia who were celebrating a special event.
Stopping for an aperitif seemed like a good idea and although they were much more expensive than in Venice we had a thirst that needed urgent quenching. It was not in an ambient position so we soon moved along, crossing over/under Ponte de Vecchio.
By sheer accident we ended back at Piazza della Republica and cheekily reused our docket to accesss the toilets at Reds which was the bookstore /cafe where we'd had coffee while waiting for our tour to start. Best coffee in Italy so far!
We caught the 1A back without any mishap, dumped our gear on the bed, freshened up and due partially to proximity and also because of the amazing food the night before we went back to the Pizzeria on our street via Faentina. On this occasion we chose from their daily fish menu. Tagliatelle Carbonara la mare ( Carbo with mussels and clams) oh my goodness - so divine, Eric said it surpassed his crab and vongole penne. I let Eric chose dessert a mediocre cheesecake smothered in chocolate sauce - not a good choice. I knew we should have stuck to predictable Tiramisu!
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