Pizzas, planning, & plenty of birthday fun! - Rome & Florence - June 2015 - Day 6

[Hannikins]

Early start this morning as I was determined to get to the Galleria Academia before the crowds.

It was a bit of a walk so after a quick breakfast at the hotel we headed out. As it was early morning the streets where quiet and we had time to savour the walk. They always say don’t forget to look up in Florence and you can see the reason why in this beauty



Now I had the firenze pass to help me out here but even I was shocked at the size of the queue. It went right round the block!

Even the Firenze card queue wasn’t tiny!



We didn’t wait long though thankfully as the sun was finally starting to heat up. I felt very sorry for those waiting around the corner as they were bound to be feeling its full force.

Now we were really only here for one reason and one reason alone… but then so was everyone else.



so it was never going to be the one on one meet I had hoped

He was pretty stunning though.



and yes, even Adam, once he’d got over the fact his bit were as big as our heads, could appreciate the skill involved



I loved that there were seats around the back, I mean you need to sit down with a view like this obviously.



And that was it!

Yes there are other things to see here and we did a very quick tour round



but nothing else on the “must see” list for us so we headed out, it was now not even 10.30 and somehow the queue had gotten even larger.

On the way out I noticed that there was a gelato icon sitting tantalisingly close to our location on my app, like two doors down close… I mean it would be rude not to right?

So we did !



no ice cream shots I’m afraid, turns out it was popular and packed so we had to eat and walk, it was rather good though, I had banana again… mainly because it was one of the few things I know how to pronounce in italian when under pressure!

I also saw that they sold ice cream in brioche here, a la the france pavilion in world showcase, alas we didn’t make it back to try one.

Next up we made our way to Basilica di San Lorenzo



Again we went straight in using the firenze card, not that there was a queue! One thing I will say with the pass is that it very easy to use and all the separate entrances were well signposted.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but INSIDE it’s stunning!















An interesting Basilica and very much worth a visit. As is entrance to the library which you need to get another ticket for.

[Hannikins]

Despite the ice-cream we were getting peckish now. I had no real lunch plans but whilst we were out this way I thought we should check out the Mercato Centrale.

This is an old market space used for food stalls and a renovated eating space on the second floor. There’s even a cookery school here subsidised by the government where you can eat.

Stunning place, we decided to explore downstairs first and purchase some gifts





Then we headed upstairs. It’s communal dining up here, lots of stalls to purchase from and 1 big seating area for all in the middle.



We walked around all the stalls first, we really couldn’t decided where to start!









Finally we settled on pizza!



Small but perfectly formed - €8 (Ł5.74)



In the middle was a large bar area so we grabbed some beers from here as well so we could sit and enjoy the atmosphere a little



Next up was Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. Now here the firenze card was a little strange and we walked around the outside twice trying to find it.

The square outside was stunning though







Inside there were plenty more WOW moments to be had















I mean I had thought Rome had some beautiful architecture but this place was something else!

[Hannikins]

Next we double back on ourselves to visit Riccardi Medici Palace (I know, we crammed a lot in today!)

I’ve always liked my history and this place was FULL of it.











Here I experienced my most memorable room of the trip, a real stop you in your tracks kinda room



yes, WOW



I was all up for Adam leaving me here for a bit



But unfortunately we still had places to be, I know, MORE STILL.

As Florence is so small you were never far from a view like this.



you really can’t get lost! Now we’d managed to get things done a lot quicker than I had expected at it was only 4pm, so with time to spare we decided to look in on Palazzo Vecchio on the way back to our hotel, that was the great thing about the card, you really could just head in wherever you fancied











Sorry, I know, I’m addicted to ceilings, I need help

Here have a wall so you don’t think I’m too crazy :P



Outside the Palazzo we stopped to watch some street acts. They had a mime similar to the one in seaworld who was doing great impressions of passersby

Suddenly we heard a lot of noise and music getting closer to the square then out of nowhere a parade appeared!



This was the start of “Calcio Storico” it’s basically a game of no rules, medieval football and this was their “official” parade, complete with sbandieratori≈(flag throwers).







Fun and excitement over it was now late afternoon so we decided to head back for a rest before dinner. I really liked that we were close enough to “nip back” I certainly was a lot less tired than I had been in Rome because of it.

[Hannikins]

Dinner tonight was a late one, at a small place called Touch Florence. It wasn’t in a touristy area and was pretty much down a series or side allys but eventually we found it



Now I had found this place on various food blogs whilst doing my research and knew that behind the gimmick of ordering via an iPad (hence the name) this place actually did some amazing food.

The place was packed so we were seated in a side room with only three 2 tops. It was pleasant and I loved the decor.



All the food on the menu is shown with a photo on the iPad and some also included a video so you can see how the dish is made and where the local ingredients come from, pretty cool really.

We were both struggling to choose so instead we opted for the tasting menu



It was expensive for what it was as you got small portions but it did allow us to taste a lot more than if we had order the larger portions directly from the main menu

bread service


Zucchini Blossons


Homemade Gnudi


BEST THING EVER! If I had had a whole bowl of this every night for the whole holiday I would have loved it, truly amazing.

Chicken


Italian “Cube”


Dessert was…. interesting. but not really my thing

Total for the meal was €94 (Ł67.44) for the meal that was probably a lot for the amount of food but for the experience I thought it was well worth it

Full but comfortably so we strolled back through the centre to our hotel



Tomorrow was our last full day

FIT BIT STATS
24,246 steps
27 floors
16.8 km (strange how it didn’t feel that far)

[Seeley]

Great report - have just caught up with this! and lovely photos!
I loved Rome (many years since I went) but we never got to Florence just to the outskirts were we saw the rooftops including the Dome.
Thanks for sharing

[Hannikins]

Originally Posted by Seeley

Great report - have just caught up with this! and lovely photos!
I loved Rome (many years since I went) but we never got to Florence just to the outskirts were we saw the rooftops including the Dome.
Thanks for sharing

See more...

amazing place, I would love to go back one day but there are so many other places in italy I would love to see first

[Hannikins]

day 7 posted