Florence on the big Red Bus

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Today it’s time to look around Florence (Firenze) so we have decided to train into Florence from the local town Pontassieve. Our plan is to train to the main Florence train station and then hop the big red busses as we did in Rome. Trains are not so reliable and didn’t get into Florence until 12. Anyway aboard the bus, the first stop was a lookout high above the town which afforded us with some spectacular photos of Florence from a far. After a lengthy wait for the next bus, we went through the old money area of Florence where the Rockefeller’s build their house. Our next stop was the Palazzo Pitti which is a palace of the Florence rules between 1865 and1919. There is fresco ceilings in all rooms with hundreds of historic paintings lining the walls. Next we stopped at Ponte Vecchio which is a bridge across the river Arno where there are a number of trader stalls that have been built over time into shops on the bridge. Finishing back at the Santa Maria Novella train station we walked a couple of hundred meters to the Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore or St Mary of the Flower. Rose had to plead to get in as her shorts did cover her knees, which she did successfully. I would have been surprised if she didn’t get in as the 20 something girl in front of her, her pants didn’t cover much and she got in. We had a beer in the hot afternoon sun before navigating the chaotic and unhelpful train system back to Pontassieve. Once home we had another home cooked meal.

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