Giardino Torrigiani

We had a 9 am booking for the Uffizi Gallery this morning, so we were up early once again. We had to wait in one line to pick up our reserve tickets, then wait in another line to enter, and then another line to actually get into the Gallery. And this was with a reserved time slot! Anyway, we made it through all the lines and got in.

It's always a bonus to have someone with you who has study art history. Brad was able to explain the importance of many pieces to us, and he directed us to the really significant pieces so that we didn't get art overload. We got to see pieces by Giotto, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Caravaggio. The real standouts were Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"; da Vinci's "The Annunciation"; and Caravaggio's "Head of Medusa." The Gallery itself was an interesting building as well. I had no idea it'd be around since the 1500s!

We spent two hours at the Uffizi before finding our way out. It was lunch time, so we got out of the tourist area and went to a pizza and beer joint we'd passed earlier called Fermento. We got to sit outside under a canopy, which was quite lovely. We all got our own pizzas, which were made with a sourdough crust. Our big pizzas were maybe not the fuel we needed for our next activity, but they were certainly delicious!

Our reserved time to climb the 436 stairs to the top of the Duomo's cupola was at 2 pm. We walked over and eventually found the line, which moved quickly. Then it was time to climb! They have warnings before you go up that you shouldn't climb the stairs if you're claustrophobic and once we got going, I understood why. The stairs were winding and became increasingly narrower as you went up. You couldn't even pass anyone until you came to an alcove! However, the climb was worth the incredible view at the top! You could see all of Florence! It was beautiful.

We probably hung out at the top for about half an hour before making our way down. Going down was tough because the stairs were so steep. However, we did it and Evan was happy to be back on the ground! Before leaving the area, we went to check out The baptistery doors that were done in bronze by Giberti.

After all that, it was time for a quick stop at Perche No? (Why Not?) which is a gelateria I had read about. Evan had coffee crunch and stracitella, I had chocolate and fresh mint, and Brad had almond and pistachio. It was a refreshing treat after a hot climb!Read more