Florence is famous for art, leather (or as our New Zealand guide called it "leeeethah"), gelato, and the Ponte Vecchio; today we experienced all four. Our day started off with a trip through one of Florence's many leather markets. We had briefed the night before on how to spot fake leather by an Australian who was in the know and we felt prepared to haggle our way to a deal. Whitney found a purse she liked and the vendor told her "45 Euros", so she responded with "25 Euros" and after he pretended to recover from the insult, we got him down to 35 but we didn't have the money on us and because he was the first vendor we moved on. Oddly enough, that ended up being the best deal we found.
Next on our to-do list was the Galleria degli Uffizi, or the Uffizi Museum. We had been told by one of the receptionists at our hostel that the best time to go was around one p.m. because people leave the museum around lunch time. Well, I don't know if we would've waited longer at another time in the day but we did stand there for over an hour waiting to see the premier Rennaissance museum in the world. Unf
ortunately, neither one of us is an art-buff so we didn't know too much about what we were seeing, but we did recognize a few paintings like The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli.They didn't allow photographs in the museum, but you can google the important items and probably see them in better detail than we did. While in line, we met Jorge, a fellow North American from Mexico who was travelling by himself and with whom we had a tepid interest in art in common.
Afterwards, the three of us walked to the Ponte Vecchio, which was not as magical as I remember. Perhaps Sunday at 4:30 p.m. is not the best time to visit any tourist attraction, especially in a Catholic country like Italy, but the gold/jewelry shops were identical all along the bridge and all equally overpriced. The light at the end of the tunnel was the "Gelatteria PonteVecchio" which Jorge had read was a top-notch gelatteria. The ice cream was delicious but Whitney's coffee flavor was far and away the best coff
ee-flavored anything I have ever tasted. We walked back by an international bookstore because Jorge had been having trouble finding books in Spanish, and I needed a book to replace the Dan Brown thriller that took me two days to finish (the literary equivalent of crack cocaine). Unfortunately, it was closed and we parted ways with Jorge on our trip home.
Tomorrow, we will see the previously private gardens of the Medici family and continue our haggling with the leeethah vendors while finishing up our stay with a nighttime tour of the city.
Next on our to-do list was the Galleria degli Uffizi, or the Uffizi Museum. We had been told by one of the receptionists at our hostel that the best time to go was around one p.m. because people leave the museum around lunch time. Well, I don't know if we would've waited longer at another time in the day but we did stand there for over an hour waiting to see the premier Rennaissance museum in the world. Unf
ortunately, neither one of us is an art-buff so we didn't know too much about what we were seeing, but we did recognize a few paintings like The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli.They didn't allow photographs in the museum, but you can google the important items and probably see them in better detail than we did. While in line, we met Jorge, a fellow North American from Mexico who was travelling by himself and with whom we had a tepid interest in art in common.Afterwards, the three of us walked to the Ponte Vecchio, which was not as magical as I remember. Perhaps Sunday at 4:30 p.m. is not the best time to visit any tourist attraction, especially in a Catholic country like Italy, but the gold/jewelry shops were identical all along the bridge and all equally overpriced. The light at the end of the tunnel was the "Gelatteria PonteVecchio" which Jorge had read was a top-notch gelatteria. The ice cream was delicious but Whitney's coffee flavor was far and away the best coff
ee-flavored anything I have ever tasted. We walked back by an international bookstore because Jorge had been having trouble finding books in Spanish, and I needed a book to replace the Dan Brown thriller that took me two days to finish (the literary equivalent of crack cocaine). Unfortunately, it was closed and we parted ways with Jorge on our trip home.Tomorrow, we will see the previously private gardens of the Medici family and continue our haggling with the leeethah vendors while finishing up our stay with a nighttime tour of the city.
I am so glad you were able to get the leather purse you wanted. Is Basalaona next? I had exercise class to day and went to a Rodeo on Saturday but it was so cold we left early. Today is cold too. I am glad you've made so many friends on your trip. I can't wait to see you though. I love you both so much.
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