Tuscan Paradise: Day trip to Florence

We left Rome first thing the next morning to catch our early train to Florence. We’d spend the day in Florence before taking a late night train to Venice where we’d sleep for the night. We all packed super light (e.g. just a change of boxers and t-shirt for me). The high speed train to Florence was super nice and better yet I had a chocolate croissant for breakfast (quickly becoming my favorite thing in Italy)!

The ride lasted for a couple hours and most of us caught up on sleep. I knocked out a few chapters on my Kindle reading ‘Ms. Peregrine’s House of Peculiar Children’.

It was probably 10a by the time we arrived in the city. We headed straight for the Accademia Gallery famous for housing the famous statue of Michelangelo’s David. Not surprisingly we of course had to stand in line, because we didn’t have advance reservations (story of our lives). Aside from Kevin and I, the rest of the group wasn’t feeling the museum so they went off in search of markets. Less than an hour later, we finally made it in! I whizzed by most of the art, but the statue of David is pretty kick ass. It’s huge. Photography isn’t allowed, but of course it didn’t stop many from trying to sneak a photo op.

Kevin and I finished the museum early so before meeting up with everyone we darted over to the famous town square, the Piazza della Signoria.

The Piazza is anchored by the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s town hall.

In addition to the Palazzo, numerous statues dot the Piazza such as a replica of David. Photo allowed here of course.

The Rape of the Sabine Women

Perseus With the Head of Medusa. Coolest statue in Europe to date IMO!

Kevin and I darted back to the Accademia Gallery to meet up with the rest of the group. Now starving, we relied on good ol’ Yelp to find a place for lunch. I was happy because the place we landed on had patio seating, and we could sit outside and people watch.

Birra (beer)

Yummy smoked salmon and olive oil on toast

Really good ravioli. I think it had a duck reduction. Also very yummy.

After lunch, we checked out the Central Market. Great selection of food and souvenirs. Found some great Tuscan keepsakes and gifts like biscotti, risotto, and olive oil. Seeing that this place was a tourist magnet, everyone was super nice.

Parmigiano Reggiano for sale

With many souvenirs in tow, we headed back towards the Piazza since most of the group hadn’t been there yet. Close to the Piazza is the famous ‘Duomo’ aka Florence Cathedral aka the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Certainly a beautiful site, but candidly, we were a little churched-out, especially after seeing the massive lines to go in. After seeing St. Peter’s Basilica, I was fine not entering the Duomo.

Gates of Paradise (doors of the Florence Baptistery immediately across from the Duomo)

Next stop was the Uffizi Gallery, famous for many art pieces especially Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. To say the entry process is garbage would be putting it mildly. Imagine a blob of people that barely qualifies as a line… every 20 minutes some museum dude comes out to open the velvet rope… what follows is a mad rush of chaos that allows 30 people among the 150 waiting to go inside…. Wait another 20 mins to witness this same farce over again. Long story short, everyone bailed except for me. Yes, I’ve now seen The Birth of Venus.

I was on my own the rest of the night and would be meeting everyone back at the train station to catch the late night train to Venice. Adventure time to check out Florence for a few hours!

Really great pedestrian streets!

Crossing the famous Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) full of amazing little shops. The stamp and stationary shops were particularly awesome. Almost bought myself a ‘D’ stamp. But didn’t quite find a design I loved.

View of the Arno river from the Ponte Vecchio.

More street exploration.

Happened to stumble upon the Santo Spirito church.

Time for a gelato break! Maybe the best I had in all of Italy!

Back to Florence walking exploration

Armed with my GPS-enabled Florence map, I was trying to find a green space called the Boboli Gardens. Thinking it’d be atop the nearby Florence hills, I made my way up some pretty steep roads. I never did find those Boboli Gardens and instead ended up at the Belvedere Fort. The fortress-turned museum provided some great panoramic views of Florence. There was also an exhibit of Asian art.

Hiking up the hilly streets in search of those dang gardens!

Asian art atop the Belvedere Fort.

The historic center of Florence, a UNESCO world heritage site!

Succumbed to not being able to find the Boboli gardens, my last stop on my Florence adventure was Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square). Had no idea what was there, but a quick Google search yielded this place atop many top-10 lists. So once again, armed with my GPS-powered iPhone map, I started walking.

What goes up must come down. Headed down the hill from the Belvedere Fort.

Time to go up again. No idea Piazzale Michelangelo was on top of a hill! This walking adventure was quite the workout!

This is what success looks like! No idea Piazzale Michelangelo was going to give me the best view of the city! The Belvedere Fort was nice, but this was tops! Plus it was free! To savor the moment, some thirst-quenching Peroni from the nearby food stand. Just 2-euro!

With a couple hours until our Venice train, I went back to the Piazza della Signoria for dinner under the shadows of the Palazzo Vecchio! Next stop: Venice!