Michelangelo's David for €30

Our day began with a late start, thanks to the late night at the opera. Another lesson learned: sleep is just as important as play! Of course that meant we missed something on our tight itinerary (Bargello). Once we had breakfast, the first stop was the Uffizi Gallery. The museum took us through the Rennisiance. Although I've seen art from this period, it was interesting to see how it evolved all in one gallery. Of course, the stand out pieces were beautiful (Birth of Venus and Holy Family). The gallery bookshop was when I hit the jackpot! There were books! Not just the kind of books you would expect, but children's books of all types (and in many different languages). No more searching for my Italian children's book (and I got another in Italian just for fun). The next search for books will be in Greece and Turkey, but not until the cruise.

We did a little roaming in the direction of our next destination: lunch. Another page out of RS's book and we were more than pleased! Cantinetta dei Verrazano is a quaint little restaurant, pasteria attached. We shared a plate of crostini and the tagliere di focacce (sampler of focaccia sandwiches); both were absolutely amazing! The real gem here was the service. Jonathan, the manager, was ever so helpful and very entertaining. An avid Red Sox fan, he was eager to talk sports and catch us up with what was going on in the American sports arena (baseball, hockey, basketball). We got a history lesson on the origin of the term "yankee" (Every Red Sox fan's next favorite team is the Yankees, right?), while Jonathan recommended some good wine. Actually, these were our first ordered glasses of wine. The finishing touch was our exit past the bakery counter...with purchase, of course (a shortbread cookie with chocolate filling and a meringue cookie--very good)!

I'm not sure what we were thinking, but next on the list was climbing the campanile. Ugh, how ridiculous! What cruelty to trek up 413 (the tower is 270 feet tall) stairs for fun. Who does that?! I'll tell you who--we do (and what seemed to be about a bazillion other tourists creating jams in the very narrow staircase). Once at the top, the view was beautiful and we were less inclined to complain about how much our legs hurt after the eleven and a half minute, steep, and narrow climb. After the much easier climb down, we went in search of some well deserved gelato.


As many of you know, John is a peanut butter fiend. He hasn't experienced withdraw symptoms yet, but I'm expecting them any day now. Each time we stop to check out the gelato selections, he's disappointed there isn't a peanut butter flavor. I suggested he begin looking for Nutella flavored gelato, since that is the spread of choice here. After lots of searching, we finally found some! He enjoyed it, but I could tell he would've preferred peanut butter. I passed on the gelato and tried some lemon sorbetto. It was good, but I think I'll stick with gelato.


A short break to shed what we accumulated throughout the day, and we were on our way again. The short walk to the Accademia was refreshing, as was the short line (thanks to the reservations John made). Once inside the congested museum, we listened to the RS walking tour. Michelangelo's David left me speechless. I know you can't possibly imagine such an instance, but it's true! Again, picture taking was not permitted, but this one time I may have bent the rules. (I don't think it said anything specifically about phones, and I turned the flash off). Unfortunately, tickets for the museum were €15 and the only notable piece was David.

We continued on with the RS Renaissance Walk. This took us through the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza della Signoria, ending at Ponte Vecchio. I suppose the Ponte Vecchio could be compared to the Rialto bridge, but I'm not so sure. Yes, they are both bridges with great views and shops lining both sides...but this one just had gaudy touristy junk and expensive jewelry (talk about one extreme to the other). The Rialto had varied goods and was less crowded.


Anyway, it was time to explore! We came across another gelateria, Caffe delle Carrozze, with some interesting flavors. Finally John found his peanut butter! I chose an eclair-like flavor with bits of chocolate and pastry dough in it. We were both content with our choices. We began meandering through the streets and ended up purchasing a watercolor painting of the bridge from a local artist. Our travels ended up taking us to the Pitti Palace. Unfortunately, they were already closed.

Our dinner plans took us to Golden View Open Bar (another RS suggestion). The restaurant sits along the Arno River and has a beautiful view of the bridge. The vegetable risotto I had was wonderful, and John had his first taste of fresh pasta (gnocchi in a Gorgonzola and cream sauce with arugula). The food was great and the decor was...modern (in a good fun, interesting way). So began our final walk "home". Along the way we shopped at H&M (which allowed dogs?!), appreciated some Italian street painting (excited for Arts Fest already!), and got some gelato to share (amaretto, yum).

We've visited two Italian cities so far...I think it's safe to say that Venice is our favorite. It has more of a homey, small town feel to it (because it is). I like the fact that no matter where we went, we had no choice but to buy local products from locals. Here you need to be more discerning and really search for that experience.


Definitely looking forward to a full night of sleep in preparation for an early morning rise to drag our luggage through the streets to the train station. Watch out Rome, here we come!