2016 - The Italian Trip (Part 3 - Florence)

Friday 23 September

The train from Venice to Florence was on time as seems to be normal in Italy. From there, a short taxi ride over the river to the B&B. This was a nice old house on the Via dei Serragli and run by Fabio.

We had a walk up back to city centre.

The Palazzo Pitti.

The Arno.

A statue of Zeus.

Yep, horses can be scary animals.

Yet another Piazza in Florence.

The entrance to the Duomo.

The market in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

The buildings on the Lungarno Corsini.

On the Ponte alla Carraia.

A craft beer bar on the via dei Serragli.

The afternoon was spent lazing around and catching up on the laundry.
I had some dinner at a small place just up the road, Tuscan bread soup, which as its name suggests, is a tomato based soup with a large amount of bread mixed in with it. Interesting texture but quite tasty.

Saturday 24 September

The morning was spent in the city centre, more specifically the San Lorenzo market. Whilst I bought two scarves, Hung bought six leather hand bags!

The San Lorenzo Market.

From there was caught the train to Pisa for the afternoon.

There was more shopping as we wandered from the train station and across the river. We managed to get lost as there are no signs. We crossed the river and turned right whereas we should have turned left. Thanks to the helpful people who pointed us the right direction.

Lunch was a decent pizza close to the tower.

Posing on the bridge in Pisa crossing the Arno.

Yet another nice pizza for lunch.

The tower and basilica were quite busy but not too crowded so could see them easily. Sitting on the grass was relaxing, just watching the world go by.

The tower.

The horses in Pisa are less scary.

And me.

A leaning tower.

The basilica in Pisa.

The train back to Florence took an hour, getting us back in time for a late afternoon nap.

A late afternoon picture of the Arno.

I had dinner at the same place again, this time a bean and pasta soup.

Sunday 25 September

We awoke to a marathon or sponsored fun run passing straight past our window. There seemed to be hundreds of people passing by, all in their blue shirts.

Some of the many runners.

More runners.

After breakfast, we walked up the hill to the Fort Belvedere, an old fortress behind the Palazzo Pitti. Decent views over the city.

Fort Belvedere.

A nice tree (and Florence).

On the top of Fort Belvedere.

We followed the walls down to the Porte San Miniato, and then up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. This viewpoint has great views over the city and river.

View over Florence from the walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Looking back up the hill towards Fort Belvedere.

The Ponte Vecchio crossing the river.

The walk continued back to the river (nice and flat) to the market in the Piazza S. Maria Novella and a decent lunch.

More palaces on the Arno.

Lunch in the market, vegetable risotto and a chicken and potato dish.

After such a walk, the afternoon was lazy, although I did go for a walk down the street (away from the river) and found gelato. Yum!

Dinner was at a small place on the Piazza S. Spirito. The spaghetti dish was one of the tastiest things i have ever eaten. So good, you wipe the bowl out with the bread, and then lick it clean!! All for about €8.

The best dish of spaghetti ever made.

I liked Florence, especially as we were staying across the river away from the main tourist hordes. This part of the city appears to be the normal part, no tourists, local shops, bars and restaurants. A bit of a hike to the river but the exercise is worth it.
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