D34 Italy - Firenze

The following is another day in Firenze...in a nutshell:

- We lined up nice and early for access to the cathedral, being careful to dress appropriately covering all shoulders and legs. A few grumpy people were turned away by officials due to poor clothing choices and who didn’t want to pay 5€ for a cheap shawl at a nearby stall.
- The Crypt that lies underneath the cathedral was super cool, more so than I think either of us anticipated! Was amazing to see how the different eras of the Catholic Church were laid down in stone and built on one another.
- There are artists (and con artists) lining the streets of Firenze, some producing some beautiful water paintings and other works. We had admired one artist’s paintings yesterday so we made a new line for her stall again, as her designs were really striking and different to all the others. She was a Canadian girl who lives part time in Firenze, and was really friendly.
- We found the carbonated water fount which we had read about in another piazza and thought hard about lunch.
- We are total creatures of habit. Once again we opted for fresh pasta from the market, and salad from the salad bar. The pasta blew our tiny minds once again, but the salad was rubbish.
- Ant spotted a silver ring in a small jewellery shop down a side street but they were closed (the siesta issues!).
- We walked to Ponte Vecchio to look at a bridge full of overpriced jewellery in precariously placed shops. We also found a really whacky jewellery “museum” down a side street, and I’m not going to lie - it creeped me out as it was totally gothic and dark.
- Enjoyed overdue coffee and gelato next to the river. Anthony asked for an iced coffee, but he received what can only be described as a glass of beige foam.
- We continued to hike up the hillside to Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte, which sat above Piazza MichaelAngelo. We slowly explored the church, sat for more than 5 minutes in silence (I know!), and then found their tiny souvenir shop stocked with with lots of homemade goodies and medicinal items.
- We arrived at the piazza at 6pm (2.5 hours before sunset) to get some quieter photos of the city, but then we realised how early it was and how hungry we were so we got some drinks and chippies! The day had been pretty hazey so the sunset didn’t set Firenze ablaze as we would’ve hoped but it was still breathtaking....despite being joined by 10,000,000 of our now closest friends.
- We practically sprinted down the hill and over the river at the prospect of food. We ended up at La Bussola in town for late night pizzas- Ant had a Parma ham pizza and I had a Margarita DOC. Also ordered our first Montopucciano in Italy and didn’t pay for water cos we are stingy....we had our own under the table!
- Bought our train tickets to Rome for tomorrow, another hot travel day!

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