Day 339: Uffizi Gallery

First day in Florence, and sadly it was raining! We had a few different things planned for the few days but nothing was locked in so we were able to shuffle, which was nice! Figured that since it was raining, we might as well head for the Uffizi Gallery which is obviously indoors.

So off we went, arriving around 10am. Went straight in with no lines (though we'd pre-booked tickets the night before) and started going through. It's a huge collection so we skimmed some of the early stuff (pre-Renaissance religious art) but then took our time in other areas.

The most notable works in the gallery are Botticelli's Birth of Venus (and it's less-famous twin, Primavera aka Spring), as well as a bunch of Raphael works downstairs. Although the Botticelli works were in a large room with crowds admiring them (I overheard an American guy say to his wife/girlfriend "I dunno [who/what it is], but it's really famous"), the Raphaels were in a small room, almost a hallway really. And they were just before the room with a couple of Leonardo works (clearly signposted), so most people just walked straight past them!

Halfway round you get to the cafe and I felt like a rest and a coffee. But it was 2 euros for a cappuccino at the bar, or 5.50 for table service! I went with the bar option with was lucky, since the coffee itself was crap - probably the worst I've had in Italy. All milk and no flavour.

Finished off the gallery around 2:30pm and headed home, via a sandwich shop where we both had paninis. Collected Schnitzel from the apartment and then spent the rest of daylight hours wandering around Florence. Exterior of the Cathedral, the Palazzo Vecchio, around the Ponte Vecchio etc.

Eventually had an early dinner at a fancy organic pasta and pizza restaurant near our apartment. We shared a pizza and an entree which were both great.Read more