Day Ten - On our own exploring Florence

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Day Ten - On our own exploring Florence

Today the Roberts/Montgomery clan were on there own to explore the local city of Florence.
We started out with a trip on foot across town to Santa Croce so we could revisit the Peruzzi leather shop to buy some items. On the way to Santa Croce, we stopped at the Duomo to take a quick look inside. When we reached the leather shop, Brandon purchased a new coat and the rest bought some belts and gifts. Afterward, we ate at the cafe right outside of the leather store. The salesman walked us over to the cafe and explained that we were to get a discount. And the cafe served hamburgers. Yes, I said hamburgers. Just remember to order them very very well done, or it WILL come out rare.

After lunch we cruised through the city stopped at the Piazza della Signoria again to look at the statues a little closer and ended up at Ponte Vecchio once again. From there we departed company as everyone but me went back to take the standard siesta. I went back across town to visit a wine tasting store near Santa Croce were I received tastings from olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and of course, wines from the Tuscany area. The host was very friendly and provided my a history of the local wine regions within Tuscany. I was given four very liberal pours of red and I passed on the whites. I purchased one bottle for my little collection at home.

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at the Bargello, Florence's second ranking museum after the Ufizzi. The Bargello contains a very nice collection of art and statues from the likes of Michelangelo, Donatello, Cellini, and Giambolonga to name a few. There was an special exhibit where they were showing the restoration of Donatello's bronze statue, David. The scientist was fixing the statue in much the same way a dentist would fix a cavity in your tooth. Except the equipment used was very high tech. I would like to note that I did enter the Santa Croce church on the first day in Florence. This church is very cool in that it is the burial place of many important Italians in history. I saw the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Fermi, and Dante. And much of the art is excellent as well. Well worth the few EUROs to get in. The admission includes the church grounds and if you have the time, get the audio tour guide.

That night we ate at a local pizzeria around the corner from our hotel. Outside of Meemo's pizza in Baveno, this was the best pizza and food for the buck. Very family oriented, great food, at an excellent price. We saw the biggest calzone ever and watched some of the European Cup. Excellent!!!!

EPI notes:
There were no optionals on this day. This is the benefit of the Easy Pace style of the tour. One can relax and enjoy the local sites or like one couple, they booked a side tour to Pisa that left at 11:00am and returned at 7:00pm that night. We liked taking it easy on this day.
I was a little disappointed that we did get the Ufizzi as an optional. So, if you would like see this gallery, I suggest getting tickets as soon as you start the tour.

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Photos

Of course we ate gelato here...
... find a place we didn't eat gelato at...