Pizzas, planning, & plenty of birthday fun! - Rome & Florence - June 2015 - Day 5

[Hannikins]

Pizzas, planning, & plenty of birthday fun! - Rome & Florence - June 2015 - Day 5

Today was a travel day. When planning the trip Adam hadn’t really considered how we were going to get between Rome and Florence but I was relieved to find it was a fairly pain free train journey. We’d choosen an early morning train at 08:20 but despite that we wanted to be on time and not being sure what traffic would be like early morning we left at the crack of dawn. Ordering a taxi for 7am.

We didn’t need to worry, we arrived at 7.15! oh well at least we weren’t in a rush!

I already had tickets so I didn’t have to pick anything up so we went in search of breakfast. Unfortunately as it was so early everything was closed, there weren’t even many commuters about. There were a few dodgy looking individuals walking around though so Adam didn’t really want to leave me or the baggage unattended to go in search of more outlets. They weren’t threatening in anyway, I just don’t think they would think twice about grabbing luggage or a bag if the opportunity presented itself.

Termini was similar to large UK stations in that platforms are assigned at the last minute meaning we sat waiting for ages only to then end up with a mad rush to our platform halfway across the station!

We had allocated seats and I can honestly say european trains are nothing like UK ones, they are spacious comfortable and certainly in no way stressful (unlike Paris), there was plenty of space for our luggage which had been my main worry based on previous european train journeys.

The journey was painless and we arrived in Florence at 9.51. I left Adam with the baggage whilst I went in search of the firenze card. Unlike the roma pass this was expensive (around 72euros each) but covered entry for the whole of our trip rather than entry to a few and then discounts. In fact it worked out being a more expensive option when I’d done a cost comparison but I thought oh well, we’ll go to a few more places we hadn’t planned as well and get our moneys worth. I’m glad I did, you’ll see why in future days.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find any signs even though I was sure they sold them here (they do, I checked afterwards,where I don’t know!) so I gave up and instead went to join Adam and the taxi line.

The line was very well organised and we were off in no time. We were staying right next to the ponte vecchio but getting there was a bit of a faff. There are certainly cheaper ways to get from the train station but I find as I’m get older getting from A to B is becoming more about convenience and ease rather than always looking for the cheapest

Our hotel, Hotel Pitti Palace al Ponte Vecchio, was lovely.



It was a little old-fashioned and in need of some updates for the price but as you are paying for the location and it’s a very old building you kinda let that slide. Our room was ready on arrival which was a relief so we headed up to freshen up before heading out

We weren’t in Florence for long and so we had a packed schedule (naturally), no sooner were we ready I was dragging Adam out the door and onto the bridge





I thought it best if we headed first to the Uffizi mainly because I had heard it got busy on a weekend (we were there Friday - Sunday) but also because it was a location that we could pickup passes from.



The area around the Uffizi was beautiful and there were lots of smaller stalls selling paintings and tourist tat.

After a brief look I headed towards the queue. Unfortunately I didn’t realise that Adam hadn’t followed me (apparently I “ran off”, personally I think he was just dawdling) but I couldn’t get out of the queue. I didn’t need him to get the tickets though so I just carried on and bought our tickets. I didn’t realise my mistake until I has paid and was being ushered through security and into the Gallery. I couldn’t get out! and the exit was nowhere in sight. What followed was a rush through the gallery on my own to find an exit. I came out on completely the opposite side of the gallery so I had to run round to the front where I found a rather annoyed Adam sitting on the steps, OOPS!

Panic over we then entered again together with our passes. With these you bypass all queues so at least I didn’t have to wait again or join the big queue outside, see passes have paid for themselves already :P

I won’t cover the Uffizi in detail other than to say it’s a must do and give yourself a few hours. It’s one of the better ones in terms of things to read and looks at (much to Adam delight!)













Keep an eye out for any open windows, you can get some great views on the upper levels

[Hannikins]

At the end we can across a large portrait exhibit, mainly Austrian, with some more famous paintings like the venus as well. I loved reading the descriptions













We’d been there a few hours before we realised how hungry we were. As Adam was starting to get a little bit Hangry I checked my trusty googlemap to see what was nearby and headed over.

I’d heard that Maggia pizza was popular at lunch so the fact that we were a little late was probably a good thing and we didn’t have to wait ages for a table.



You order at the bar and then take a seat, Drinks are self service but they bring over the pizza.





They were amazingly good! Two Pizzas and two soft drinks came to 23 euros



We passed on the other options, deciding we’d get an ice cream later in the afternoon.

As it was closeby we decided to pop into Bargello National Museum. This was another museum where the building impressed me more than the exhibits, probably because it was mainly sculpture and I’d seen my fill of that in recent days!





No pics sorry!

By now we were ready for ice cream so we headed to the nearest on my map app Il Gelato Gourmet di Marco Ottaviano



I had the strawberry and prosecco flavour with a rose tea option.



Both were amazing and probably one of the best so far. They had a lovely little bench outside so we sat and people watched

Next we headed towards the Duomo. Everything is so compact here, we only had to turn a corner before we saw this.



No need to ask for directions!

[Hannikins]

First we headed into the cathedral itself to cool off a little, but not before grabbing lots of pics outside, it really is stunning to look at. I could have spent hours starring up at it.









Inside was just as amazing











Here you can also go down below the main level and explore the ruins, this was very interesting and not that well signposted so keep your eyes peeled for the stairs.



We decided not to climb to the main dome, instead opting for the tower instead





This was INSANE! So hot and busy and the stairs became so twisted and narrow I ended up on my hands and knees at one point. There’s plenty of rest stops, completed with emergency services guy (I guess they get plenty of heart attacks, judging by my fitbit my heart rate was in the red!), Finally we made it to the top and realised why it was all worth the effort, WOW

















We stayed up there for a while since it was so beautiful and also because I still hadn’t recovered from the trip up to contemplate the going back down.

Going down was awful but for different reasons, less hellish on the calf muscles but scary as hell when the stairs went narrow again. Still I’m glad we did it.

[Hannikins]

We were now rather hot and sweaty so we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest before our dinner reservation at 8.30 I may have also had a quick snooze



We had hoped to get some photos of the bridge at sunset on the way but it was a little early unfortunately



Dinner tonight was at Il Teatro it had got ok reviews on trip advisor but I’d heard it was a decent place to try so had booked. I’m so glad I did. It ended up being the best meal of the whole trip!

When we arrived we were ushered inside but we asked to wait for a table outside. There wasn’t particularly much of a view, just the back of the theatre (hence the name) but it was still really hot and we wanted to take advantage of it.

Finally we were seated and we opted for the steak dinner for two which seemed reasonable. this included a platter to start and a bottle of house wine.

and what a platter!



Next followed the florentine steak. It’s a medium cooked T-bone, seasoned and then cut and displayed for your enjoyment.



It was a little dark unfortunately, I found a better picture online!



well, slightly lol

Anyway you get the idea!

This was served with tuscan beans and the most amazing garlic potatoes I’ve ever eaten



We were enjoying ourselves so much we ordered another bottle of the house wine as it again was lovely.

In total the whole thing came to 68 euros, which looking at my bank statement was £48.57 what a bargain!

So far we were enjoying Florence a lot and were already talking of returning. The atmosphere is completely different to Rome, so relaxed and care free. Everything is close together and nothing seems like a rush despite what we crammed in on the first day.

Slightly worse for wear we headed back to the hotel, grabbing some night shots (complete with drunken grins) on the way.







FIT BIT STATS
29,615 steps
41 floors (A LIE! )
13.59 km