Thursday 23rd - We finally got up and showered for breakfast at the hotel.
They had a self serve coffee machine with enough espresso creations to caffeine us up. For breakfast there were plates of muesli, sweet breads, yogurt, cheese, no fruit, no eggs, no waffles...
We followed the local example and hand washed our laundry, hanging it out to dry!
After breakfast we headed out! We stopped briefly at an Internet cafe' before walking through a flea market towards The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence.
The square was very crowded with tour groups..
We saw many statues and street artists..
another outdoor market area:
We spent 2 1/2 hours in the Uffizi Gallery. It was overwhelming. Of course, no photos inside - but I took plenty outside.
These artists dressed and painted their faces to pose as statues for money.
I made them work a bit harder and pose for this photo with me!
Our first taste of Gelato!
Tad had mint chocolate chip, I chose coconut!
We walked around for awhile before getting hungry again.
We learned quickly that if you don't get to a restaurant by about 3:00, your out of luck until 7pm when they open back up for dinner. We found someone who took pity on us and heated us up some leftover lasagna.
There is a panini shop on every corner, but you get sick of those really fast. The Italian panini is SO not the American version. It's more like a dry sandwich - not ooey gooey cheesy toasted with sauce dripping out. LOL
We stopped at a grocery before heading back to the hotel. I have cold symptoms. I think it's a combo from all the second hand smoke in Italy (It's everywhere) and airplane air blowing on my face.
On the up side, Italy recycles! They also seem to be minimalistic on paper and plastics use, which makes me very happy - unless I'm grabbing for a paper towel and there isn't one.
They had a self serve coffee machine with enough espresso creations to caffeine us up. For breakfast there were plates of muesli, sweet breads, yogurt, cheese, no fruit, no eggs, no waffles...
We followed the local example and hand washed our laundry, hanging it out to dry!
After breakfast we headed out! We stopped briefly at an Internet cafe' before walking through a flea market towards The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence.
The square was very crowded with tour groups..
We saw many statues and street artists..
another outdoor market area:
We spent 2 1/2 hours in the Uffizi Gallery. It was overwhelming. Of course, no photos inside - but I took plenty outside.
These artists dressed and painted their faces to pose as statues for money.
I made them work a bit harder and pose for this photo with me!
Our first taste of Gelato!
Tad had mint chocolate chip, I chose coconut!
We walked around for awhile before getting hungry again.
We learned quickly that if you don't get to a restaurant by about 3:00, your out of luck until 7pm when they open back up for dinner. We found someone who took pity on us and heated us up some leftover lasagna.
There is a panini shop on every corner, but you get sick of those really fast. The Italian panini is SO not the American version. It's more like a dry sandwich - not ooey gooey cheesy toasted with sauce dripping out. LOL
We stopped at a grocery before heading back to the hotel. I have cold symptoms. I think it's a combo from all the second hand smoke in Italy (It's everywhere) and airplane air blowing on my face.
On the up side, Italy recycles! They also seem to be minimalistic on paper and plastics use, which makes me very happy - unless I'm grabbing for a paper towel and there isn't one.
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