Firenze
You can't travel to Florence without looking around at all, so at the end of the conference we booked an AirBnB right in the heart of the city for one night. I looked at the guides and talked to one or two people. We didn't fancy spending lots of time in queues for museums. One of the Italian staff at the conference said, don't go in the museums. Explore the squares. It's an open air museum.
So we arrived in Florence at about 3:30, I suppose, and deposited our bags in the super little apartment, then went out to explore. Top of our list was to climb up to the Piazzale de Michelangelo, so we wandered slowly along the river, then crossed the ponte vecchio and climbed the hill, then the steps. we were pretty tired after the conference and we had second thoughts half-way up the steps, but we persevered and were rewarded with the famous view out over Florence.
Afterwards we wandered slowly along the river and through the streets via the Piazza de la Signoria and its statuary, finishing up at the Duomo. At the conference we had been fed delicious food until we could eat no more, but by this time we felt perhaps a little something might be an idea, so we found a pizzeria right by the cathedral and shared a napolitana. Then back to the AirBnB and a good night's sleep.
We hadn't bought breakfast so the next day we decided to go to the central market where we knew there was a food court. We enjoyed gazing at the porcini mushrooms and the tripe à la mode de Florence, then sampled - and bought - some very mature cheese and then hied us aloft to find some fodder. Two lukewarm cappucini (it's how they come) and some croissants later we wandered out for a final look at Florence.
We headed for San Lorenzo, consecrated by Ambrose of Milan (that Ambrose of Milan) and were astonished at its treasury then entranced by its paintings. Then back to the market for lunch before flying.
We'd cased the joint in the morning, so we headed straight for what we wanted - trapezzini - half a diagonally cut bread roll, filled with mixed vegetables for Pat or spicy beef for me. So good! Then I decided on a last dose of gelato - this time black cherry - and two glasses of fresh pomegranate juice. Then off to the tram to catch the planes home.
So we arrived in Florence at about 3:30, I suppose, and deposited our bags in the super little apartment, then went out to explore. Top of our list was to climb up to the Piazzale de Michelangelo, so we wandered slowly along the river, then crossed the ponte vecchio and climbed the hill, then the steps. we were pretty tired after the conference and we had second thoughts half-way up the steps, but we persevered and were rewarded with the famous view out over Florence.
Afterwards we wandered slowly along the river and through the streets via the Piazza de la Signoria and its statuary, finishing up at the Duomo. At the conference we had been fed delicious food until we could eat no more, but by this time we felt perhaps a little something might be an idea, so we found a pizzeria right by the cathedral and shared a napolitana. Then back to the AirBnB and a good night's sleep.
We hadn't bought breakfast so the next day we decided to go to the central market where we knew there was a food court. We enjoyed gazing at the porcini mushrooms and the tripe à la mode de Florence, then sampled - and bought - some very mature cheese and then hied us aloft to find some fodder. Two lukewarm cappucini (it's how they come) and some croissants later we wandered out for a final look at Florence.We headed for San Lorenzo, consecrated by Ambrose of Milan (that Ambrose of Milan) and were astonished at its treasury then entranced by its paintings. Then back to the market for lunch before flying.
We'd cased the joint in the morning, so we headed straight for what we wanted - trapezzini - half a diagonally cut bread roll, filled with mixed vegetables for Pat or spicy beef for me. So good! Then I decided on a last dose of gelato - this time black cherry - and two glasses of fresh pomegranate juice. Then off to the tram to catch the planes home.
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