Florence Pt. II

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We awoke a little later than we would have liked at 7:50, as we had to checkout of one hostel and into another. We dumped our bags and went to Cafe Degli Innocate where we got a small sandwich, pastry, coffee and orange juice for only 3.80 - an orange juice alone should have cost us 4 Euro.
We then headed straight for Santa Maria Del Fiore (The Duomo) as we expected queues, and got there at 9:35 where we got in line and waited 25 minutes for it to open.

We had no idea of the enterance fee but predicted between 15-20 Euro for both of us. As it turned out it was free, which was brilliant, but we were met by a man who seemed to regard Clare as some form of prostitute as she was wearing shorts. Despite the degree of cynicism and disgust he reluctantly handed Clare a disposable robe and allowed us to pass. We couldnt help but wonder if he met all such cases with that level of contempt, as there were dozens of people wearing the shawls as we got inside.
We had such high expectations of The Duomo, but when we got inside we were crushingly disappointed. It was remarkably vast and had an excellent flow, and the dome itself was beautifully frescoed, but ultimately the building was very plain. We had expected the lavish adornements of the Sienese Duomo but on a greater magnitude, but in actuality it was a little boring. The fact is that the interior in no way compliments the exterior and we left thankfull that we didn't have to pay - a thought that we never expected to face.
In the basement there was a giftshop where Clare bought a very pretty decorative pocket mirror, and i had my eye on a leather bound book, but unwilling to pay the 41 Euro asking price i decided to try and find one at the market and haggle for a better price - this gamble paid off as i managed to get one similar with hand-cut pages for only 25 Euro.

We then sat on the steps of the Basilica di San Lorenzo eating sandwiches and drinking a pint-size can of fanta, and then circulated aimlessly for a while soaking in the sun. There wasn't a cloud in sight and it was 31 degrees Celcius and only 33% humidity.
Skooters lined the streets in their hundreds and there were cyclists everywhere. There is a feeling of excitement in Florence; a sense of greatness that seems lost on no-one. We were aware that we were witnessing something very special and didn't want it to end.

We have certainly been hampered by a feeble budget. You could comfortably spend 50 Euro's a day on food alone and we have to cram everything into 30. Considering enterance fees into the inumerable sights; we would ideally need 70-80 Euros a day. We reckoned the costs for a family of four, including accommodation, food and attractions could easily be 300-400 Euros a day - which is probably why your average family holiday consists of a package deal to a mediterranean coastal resort rather than a trip around Italy. That, for me, is the main shame about Europe - the price.
With this in mind, we decided to head for Pilazzo Pitti which is on the other side of the river. We made our way to Ponte Vecchio - the famous bridge that is lined with jewelry stores that crosses the Fiume Auno river. It succeeded in being the most charmless place in Florence, as hundreds of people crammed onto it to have their photo taken. It was, however, a far nicer place at night when all the stores were concealed behind ancient-looking wooden shutters.
Over the bridge we went in search of Gardino di Boboli, a public park that promised to be beautiful and scenic and a nice contrast to the built-up city centre. However, after 45 minutes of walking, passing Pilazzo Pitti, we found it to be closed.

As night fell, we went to a small restaurant at the end of our street as we had noticed it had an authentic wood burnig stone pizza oven. The pizza did not disappoint. The toppings were scattered carelessly across its entirety, which was incredibly misshapen and super thin and crispy - exactly as a pizza should be.
We then strolled a while sharing a piccolo gilato (small ice cream) until we stumbled across a tent erected in one if the many piazzas. Inside there were five microphones lined in a row, and we assumed that there was to be an operatic performance. How wrong we were. We got a bit excited as five people in black took to the stage, i got ready with the video camera, anticipationg a Pavarotti-esque display of elegance and grace. What we actually got were five lunatics effecting voices as they read out a book to the audience. We'd walked into a book reading tent, and could not have been more surprised and disappointed if we had accidentally kneed a happy toddler in the face.

The following day we got up bright and early in preperation for the Uffizi - the tickets for which, i had booked weeks in advance. We got there and still had to queue at two enterances but undoubtedly got in quicker than those with no reservations.
The Uffizi boasts a mammoth collection of Italian renaissance paintings and sculptures, and its two main corridors were grand beyond belief, lined either side with hundreds of portraits and statues. It was very impressive to look at paintings from the dawn of the 13th Century and works by Agnolo Bronzino and Michelangelo ticked all the boxes, but to my surprise i found Botticelli to be the most impressive.
The promise of the Caravaggio exhibition inspired me to press on as i was getting very excited. We passed a large and elaborate room where a couple of our beloved Rubens hung within, before descending to the Caravaggio exhibition.
It began with plush red velvet lined walls and moody lighting, and we were met by Caravaggio's Meduca, painted on the front of a decorative shield - a poignant start. However, this was the first and last Caravaggio we would see, as the exhibition consisted entirely of works inspired by Caravaggio. The advertising for this was very missleading and i was bitterly disappointed, but still this exhibition, for me, displayed the finest works of the entire gallery.

After leaving the Uffizi a little dejected, but having purchased the gallery guide, we headed down a street we hadn't yet been down, and bumped into Chiesa di S. Croce - a combination of Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and Santa Maria del Fiore - beside which we stopped for a revolting sandwich.
Next we went and made use of the youth fare available at Palazzo Vecchio, which cost us 4.50 each and was worth every cent - particularly because of the balcony that enabled us to get photos of the Florentine rooftops as well as the beautiful Duomo.
We headed back to the hotel as it started to rain. The forcast had been for thunder and lightning and pretty soon it was true to its word. Once inside the thunder started and we've never heard anything like it. It sounded as though buildings were toppling down all around us it was that loud.
For some hillarious reason Clare was under the impression that as she was on the internet she was more likely to be struck by lighning. The storm had actually knocked the internet off, but as the rain subsided we decided to head towards the market to get the 50 Euro photo album we'd had our eye on since day one.
We had planned on getting a train to Cinque Terre today but the rain had quashed all such plans, and so we went to find a restaurant to get dinner. With dinner came Clare's first glass of wine all holiday and she was overjoyed. I settled for a 33cl bottle of larger for a stagering 6 Euro.
Afterwards we bought two large bottles of Moretti (aprox. 3 pints) which only cost 2.80, and sat in the room discussing Paris.
We discovered it has been roughly 5 years since Clare has been and about 12 years since i have been to Paris, so we went to sleep very excited indeed.

With Love...Blake and Clare

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