Florence has lost some of its lustre for me, I'm sad to say. Unlike Rome, you don't get delightful foodstuffs included with your pre-dinner drinks; water fountains are few and far between; it's much pricier with fewer bars (for breakfast coffee and sandwiches), and there are so many bloody tourists (yes, I know, including us). It is still a beautiful city, and very compact, and the rest of my group seem to be enjoying it.
While I was resting my poor unhappy feet yesterday, and doing a load of washing at the laundromat, JD and the boys went for a wander, including poking their heads inside the Duomo (reportedly the fourth largest church in the world).
Today, after finding a light breakfast, we elected to climb the Campanile (bell tower), it being the only edifice of the set open that early. JD made it halfway up, but needed to head back down; the boys and I climbed the 356 (?) steps to the top. As expected, the view was magnificent.
[Pics to come]
We returned to the bottom, but the queue to enter the Duomo proper was already absurdly long and it hadn't quite opened yet, and the Baptistry wasn't due to open for another hour and a half. Instead, we set off towards Palazzo Vecchio and the old bridge. We considered going into the Uffizi, but the queues even for ticket holders were obscene. At this point, Ky decided he very desperately needed a loo, and after several unsucessful inquiries, we decided to visit the Galileo Museum, not least to use their loo. For the 22 euro family ticket, it was a pricy loo stop (still cheaper than breakfast), but there was some interesting stuff in their too.
[Pics to come]
Barely past noon, but the light breakfast we'd had earlier meant the boys were getting hungry. After considering and discarding a few options, we went for a modestly priced tourist-filled trattoria. I consulted my guide book fragment and finally worked out how to ask for tap water (acqua dal rubinetto), which will save us a few pennies (euros).
Across the Ponte Vecchio, with its jewellery shops and view of rowers on the Arno (Jos and I critiqued their technique), and then back, heading back to the Duomo.
[Pics to come]
The boys were suitably impressed with the C13 mosaics on the ceiling of the Baptistry, although JD thought the devil looked more fun than the good guys.
[Pics to come]
JD and Ky chose to head back to the apartment, while Jos and I went into the Duomo, and the sussed out the queue to climb the cupola (way way too long). The latter is open until 6:20pm, so we agreed to return about 5pm, when it should be shorter.
By 5pm, Jos and I had napped, but Jos would not be dragged from his bed, so I climbed the cupola alone. I hadn't been up it before, but knew of the double skinned dome. This climb is 414 unairconditioned steps, and worth every one of them. In addition to getting to the top, and getting an unparallelled view of Florence, you also get to walk around part of the two walkways on the inside of the dome, overlooking the nave and altar.
[Pics to come]
I returned to the apartment, and after a bit more of a rest, we all set out for another pleasant dinner (Ky stayed awake and finished his whole meal). JD and I are both noticing that we're losing a little weight with all this walking, despite the mutiple pasta meals, and our calves are definitely feeling it. Still worth it!
While I was resting my poor unhappy feet yesterday, and doing a load of washing at the laundromat, JD and the boys went for a wander, including poking their heads inside the Duomo (reportedly the fourth largest church in the world).
Today, after finding a light breakfast, we elected to climb the Campanile (bell tower), it being the only edifice of the set open that early. JD made it halfway up, but needed to head back down; the boys and I climbed the 356 (?) steps to the top. As expected, the view was magnificent.
[Pics to come]
We returned to the bottom, but the queue to enter the Duomo proper was already absurdly long and it hadn't quite opened yet, and the Baptistry wasn't due to open for another hour and a half. Instead, we set off towards Palazzo Vecchio and the old bridge. We considered going into the Uffizi, but the queues even for ticket holders were obscene. At this point, Ky decided he very desperately needed a loo, and after several unsucessful inquiries, we decided to visit the Galileo Museum, not least to use their loo. For the 22 euro family ticket, it was a pricy loo stop (still cheaper than breakfast), but there was some interesting stuff in their too.
[Pics to come]
Barely past noon, but the light breakfast we'd had earlier meant the boys were getting hungry. After considering and discarding a few options, we went for a modestly priced tourist-filled trattoria. I consulted my guide book fragment and finally worked out how to ask for tap water (acqua dal rubinetto), which will save us a few pennies (euros).
Across the Ponte Vecchio, with its jewellery shops and view of rowers on the Arno (Jos and I critiqued their technique), and then back, heading back to the Duomo.
[Pics to come]
The boys were suitably impressed with the C13 mosaics on the ceiling of the Baptistry, although JD thought the devil looked more fun than the good guys.
[Pics to come]
JD and Ky chose to head back to the apartment, while Jos and I went into the Duomo, and the sussed out the queue to climb the cupola (way way too long). The latter is open until 6:20pm, so we agreed to return about 5pm, when it should be shorter.
By 5pm, Jos and I had napped, but Jos would not be dragged from his bed, so I climbed the cupola alone. I hadn't been up it before, but knew of the double skinned dome. This climb is 414 unairconditioned steps, and worth every one of them. In addition to getting to the top, and getting an unparallelled view of Florence, you also get to walk around part of the two walkways on the inside of the dome, overlooking the nave and altar.
[Pics to come]
I returned to the apartment, and after a bit more of a rest, we all set out for another pleasant dinner (Ky stayed awake and finished his whole meal). JD and I are both noticing that we're losing a little weight with all this walking, despite the mutiple pasta meals, and our calves are definitely feeling it. Still worth it!
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