Views from the terrace at Francesco's house
Views from the walk down the hill to the bus stop
On Tuesday, after waking up, having breakfast and visiting with Francesco, I went into the center. It's a great walk to the bus stop from the house, on a little private drive through the fields. Once I arrived in the center, I headed to the Uffizi Gallery to negotiate my visit. The Uffizi is the Louvre of Florence, and as such (in the Italian way) it is more disorganized and even more of a pain-in-the-ass to visit than the Louvre. I waited in line for 45 minutes just to make a reservation to come back later to stand in another line to actually get in. It was 1pm when I made the reservation, and the earliest I could get in was 5:30pm. Luckily the Uffizi has longer hours on Tuesdays during the summer.
First views of Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence
While I waited for my appointment at the Uffizi, I hassled around trying to put minutes on my Italian SIM card, which I finally succeeding in doing about two hours later. Then, I visited the Duomo di Firenze, another one of Italy's fantastic cathedrals. I took a free tour of the interior, resolving to come back later to climb to the top of the dome and see the baptistry.
Duomo di Firenze
A bad picture of the amazing dome fresco painted by Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari
I spent four hours at the Uffizi Gallery. While it is almost as famous and crowded as the Louvre, it is definitely much smaller, so I feel like I was able to see most of the museum in that time. Unfortunately, some rooms were closed, so I missed some things I was interested in. Still, I saw the great collection of Botticelli, the huge array of work from the Florentine masters, and many paintings I recognized from my Art History courses but couldn't remember who they'd been painted by. Again, it is so interesting to see these pieces in real life after studying them, and especially to see the difference between the original and reproductions. When you've just seen one of these masterpieces in person, you can immediately see how none of the postcards or prints can come anywhere close to capturing the true nature of the original.
No pictures inside the Uffizi, but there are some interesting things going on outside
Also, nice views from the balcony of the Uffizi cafe, where I had a snack
Dome of the Duomo in the background
Lots of cute little birds joined me for my snack - they aren't shy!
By the time I finished at the Uffizi, it was already 9:30pm. Francesco told me to wait by the wall along the Arno outside the museum, where he picked me up on his motorbike. Everyone in Italy has a motorbike. They are great for getting around the city, where cars are prohibited in many areas and the streets are very narrow. They also make parking much easier, and of course they are just plain fun! We spent some time winding through the one-way streets trying to make our way to a little outdoor terrace eatery. It was right on the Arno with beautiful night-time views of the river and bridges - a great setting for a meal! We each got a hamburger, which were so delicious! It had been a really long time since I'd had a hamburger, and these were perfect. Eva and Claudio joined us for a moment, but they soon left to look for a place with aperitivo, which is where a bar will have free food for anyone who buys a drink. Francesco and I spent some time sitting and talked for a long time about many things.
Florence at sunset
After we left the terrace, Francesco took me to a cute little piazza (square), where we met some of his friends. It is the Italian way for everyone to gather in one of the many piazzas, where they hang out, drink and visit. With Franci's friends we walked to Piazza Santa Croce where we sat on the steps and discussed a possible trip to the sea in the coming days. By the time we got home it was 2:30 in the morning. A long, well-spent day.
Stature of Dante outside Santa Croce Cathedral, where he is buried
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