Uffezi day!
We got up early to go line up, since we hadn’t managed to be at the right place at the right time with the right dosh to book tickets (the hotel website says they do hotel reservations, but that’s gone the same way as the hotel wifi – open to extremely broad interpretation!) and wandered down there. There were only about 50 people in the line when we got there so we were feeling pretty optimistic, especially when they let 30-odd people through 15 mins after we’d joined the queue. However, our optimism was unfounded, as the signs had said (min wait 1 hour). Nevertheless, we managed to be part of the second 30 people though, an hour after we started. Woo! Saved the E4 booking fee.
Today we visited the Palazzo Pizzi, which is one of the Medici palaces. It’s been turned into a series of museums/galleries – a modern art gallery, a silver gallery, a costume gallery (whee!), plus the gardens have been kept, and are huge. There’s a gorgeous parterre garden overlooking the Florentine hills, and some great formal gardens overlooked by the palazzo. There’s some modern art in the gardens as well as the original sculptures, which makes for an interesting mix!
I’m liking Florence already. It’s got the bustle of Sydney but a definite cool factor. We’re in the Hotel Medici, just around the corner from the Duomo. It’s 6 storeys high and has a roof terrace, but we haven’t got up there yet. Our room is small but has high ceilings and a window with shutters, so it has a nice feel to it.
Two Weeks Away 