Florence Day 2
As has happened with every place we have visited so far it rains when we arrive and clears the next day. So we headed off up the hill to the Bardini Gardens. This was a tip from our host – there are several towers you can climb eg Il Duomo with its 400 steps but these gardens offer a superb view of Florence including Il Duomo! 10 € to actually see the gardens may have been a bit rich but it was worth it for the view on this glorious morning. From there we travelled a bit further up the hill to the Boboli Gardens which were a more impressive gardens but less impressive views of Florence. However there were still some spectacular views and beautiful statues on site. We had the midday snooze fest booked for Uffizi Gallery so a slow wander downtown and a coffee and lo and behold I actually got some toast at last. We had booked our time online and were instructed not to arrive until 15 minutes before scheduled start of midday. We got there about 1130 and the usual Italian inefficiency kicked in. No sir you have to line up at door 3 with your online confirmation so you can get your tickets to line up at door 1! Ok , so we finally got in about 5 minutes after midday and after that all smooth sailing and rather impressive. Guess the highlight was the exit on level 1 – seriously though the Botticelli was pretty impressive along with some Leonardo works. The Madonna and child appeared in about 80% of the works. Once again there were some stunning views from the third floor of the gallery
So then it was time to buy some genuine leather products – specifically some wallets for the kids back home and a thong for me. In my usual efficient way I got them all in the first shop I went to thus leaving plenty of time for lunch! A slow walk back over Ponte Vecchio to our home away from home to drool over some photos and do some social networking. We will then head back out for leisurely meal as the sun sets on what has been a beautiful day. Tomorrow is the all day wine tour , so better get me some sleep .
flashman181 