October 6, 2017- Friday in Florence

October 6, 2017- Friday in Florence

Today in Florence, we have time to enjoy just being here. After the activity of Cinque Terre, we slept in until after 9 AM, and then leisurely walked to the Accademia Gallery where we had a guided tour which included Michelangelo’s David. It is always inspiring. On our way back to Albergo Firenze, we spent some time browsing through the Eataly store. This store was originated by a group of international chefs, including Mario Battali and Lydia Bastianich, and has many unique items to see.

From our hotel, the Albergo Firenze, you can look to the left and see the carousel of Piazza Repubblica. If we take a few steps to the right and look down the crossing street we can see the Duoma Cathedral. I took a picture of the Bell Tower adjacent  to the Duoma with Andrea, arms crossed, dwarfed in front of it.

We took a short rest in our room, and then met up with Beth, our guide for the remaining days in Italy. She tooks us on a stroll around the area. We arrived at the Arno River to see scullers drifting in front of the Uffizi Gallery with the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) just beyond.

During WWII, the Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge not blown up.  It could not hold the weight of armored tanks, so it was saved. The Allies were on the left bank and the Nazis were on the right side, each shelling the other. This part of Florence was destroyed and then rebuilt after the war.

Before stopping for dinner, Beth snapped a photo of the two of us with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.

After a long walk, we enjoyed dinner at Antico Fattoria. I enjoyed a favorite…fried zucchini blossoms and pasta with truffle sauce. Andrea also tried the zucchini blossoms and had pasta with wild boar and tomato sauce.