With so much left to see and little time to see it we decided it would be a good idea for us to split up for the morning; The plan was I would go exploring with Nonna and Babbo, while Mom and Dad saw the statue of David and the Uffizi Gallery. Then we would meet up and head to Fiesole for dinner.
9AM- While Nonna, Babbo and I remained at the flat, Mom and Dad headed over to the Galleria dell'Academia
. Since they left first I will start with their morning (keep in mind, I wasn't there, so this is all based on what they told me).
The walk over to the Galleria wasn't too bad, other than having to fight their way through the usual sea of people. As they walked and saw the endless hordes of zombie tour groups stumbling mindlessly through the city they made a promise to each other that they would never become them.
As they approached the Galleria, they saw the line of people waiting to get in. Hundreds of people all waiting for a chance to see the Statue of David. Assessing the idea of having to wait for hours in a line in the hot sun, they contemplated skipping this and moving on to the Uffizi. While they considered their options they were approached by a woman offering a guided tour. They quickly rejected the idea having only moments before promised to never take a guided tour. Then the lady said that by joining the tour we would get priority entrance into the Galleria, and just like that they became part of the zombie horde
.
The tour didn't start for 15 minutes, but while they waited the tour guide went around talking to everyone and asking where they were from. After the longest 15 minutes ever, they were finally walking to the Galleria, as they approached the entrance they noticed the tour guide passing the entrance, and then they saw the line for the tour groups, another hundred people. Having just spent 80 Euro to get on the tour they didn't want to just leave and the guide assured them that the line would go fast since it was all groups.
The line did move faster and while they waited their guide told them all about Michelangelo. After about 30 minutes they were finally inside. The guide spent 20 min talking about the paintings and statue in the first room, and then they finally walked into the hall where David was held, the guide then sat everyone down on a bench so she could tell everyone all about the other statues. Mom and Dad grew impatient, turned in their headphones and ran to the David. Having left behind the zombies, and rejoined the living made seeing the David all the more enjoyable.
Having spent so much time trying to see David they weren't so sure they wanted to go through that again at the Uffizi, but walked over anyway to check out the lines. When they got there the lines wasn't so much a long line as a massive cluster fudge
. They decided to pass on the uffizi and went to do what they do best...Eat!
Dad had been wanting to try a sandwich shop that wasn't too far away so they headed in that direction. When they arrived at All'Antico Vinaio guess what was awaiting them... another line. This one was only a few people long and appeared to be moving fairly quickly. They waited in line and got their sandwich. Dad said that despite being very simple, it was one of the best he's ever had and coming from my Dad that means something (he's had more than his fair share of Sandwiches).
From there it was time for Mom to get some food, so they headed back to the San Lorenzo Market. They walked in, and made a lap around the market to scope everything out. Not willing to fight the crowds any longer, they gave up on food from the market and headed back to the flat where they knew there was food, and no lines.
While Mom and Dad were taking in the culture, Nonna Babbo and I were just trying to enjoy a tourist free morning. We might not have seen the David, but we were exploring Florence just the same and without lines and crowds. From the flat we grabbed a coffee (the man at the coffee shop was very nice and gave me a cookie- too bad I didn't get to eat it) and went to the Ponte Vecchio.
The Ponte Vecchio was already too crowded for us so we kept walking and found that the crowds were much smaller over by the high end shops
. So we did a bit of window shopping at Gucci and Farragamo. After awhile I got tired and took a nap. When I woke up we were back at the flat. We played for little waiting for Mom and Dad to show up. I was just about to go down for another nap when in they came.
All back together again we decided to forgo my nap and make our way to the Boboli Gardens. Dad (with the help of Google) got us lost, which is impressive since the Boboli Gardens were less than a mile from our flat. We eventually found them and headed in. This place was massive! we knew we wouldn't be able to see everything, and instead of planning out a route and stressing over where to go, we just decided to use the time to take a nice stroll through the park. This was great while we were in the shaded areas, when we got out in the sun, I started baking and that combined with the fact that I was exhausted from not taking that nap this morning, I lost it on the group a bit. Having gotten the hint, Nonna and Babbo took me to the shade to sit and take a nap while Mom and Dad continued walking around
.
After about 20 more minutes of walking the gardens Mom and Dad returned and we were ready to leave, we exited the gardens through the Pitti Palace (this must have been quite the place for the Medici family to live). A short walk and a quick stop for coffee and gelato and we were back at the flat. I fell asleep on Dad and everyone took a little nap before going to Fiesole.
Fiesole was about 7 miles away and having already walked 10 miles that day, that distance was not something anyone was interested in walking (not even Mom), so we called a cab. As we were driving up the steep hills to Fiesole we were very grateful we were not walking; But the view from the top might have been worth it.
The hilltop city of Fiesole was beautiful, and had the most amazing views of the city. The only thing that could have made Fiesole even more wonderful would be some delicious food, and La Reggia had that in spades. We might have saved the best meal for last. Our first course was highlighted by the pate bruschetta and Dad's fettuccini with shaved black truffle. The second course was just as delicious and included a giant bistecca fiorentina (a huge chunk of meat, seasoned and cooked perfectly). After dinner it was time for some dessert, but for that we had to take a short walk.
We walked from La Reggia down the hill a ways to the Villa San Michele. Nonna and Babbo had visited this beautiful luxury hotel in their prior trips and wanted to show it to us. It was a very cool hotel that was built in an old church (they even kept the alter in place- right in the lobby of the hotel). We sat out on a lawn area that had immaculately landscaped. The only downside of sitting out there at dusk was the insane amount of mosquitos. We managed to survive the attack of the mosquitoes long enough to enjoy a couple beverages and desserts.
From there it was another short cab ride back to the flat and then straight to bed. Another amazing day in the books. Our trip is almost coming to an end, it is going to be hard to say goodbye to this renaissance city.
Divide and Conquer
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
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Comments

2025-02-10
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Grandma Patty
2017-05-29
We are sad that your wonderful vacation is ending and our second-hand enjoyment of it is ending as well.