Florence, Day Three

While in Florence, we had walked around a lot, but we hadn't been inside too many places. I didn't want to leave and regret not seeing more of the city's guts, if you will. In a feeble attempt to beat the crowds, Steve and I decided to wake up earlier than we would've otherwise liked so we could visit Uffizi Gallery before returning to Rome. They only admit people every fifteen minutes, so after quickly sizing up the already lengthy queue, I decided that I would have time to go in search of a pastry shop for breakfast. Most shops weren't opened yet, but I did come across a little pasticceria that suited the purpose just fine. I walked away with a yummy chocolate filled confection and a sweet cream filled pastry. Summoning up all my willpower, I managed to make it back to Steve at the museum without devouring breakfast along the way. After standing in line for another 45 minutes or so, we realized that we'd have about 20 minutes to run through the museum at the rate we were going before we had to check out of our hotel. Steve headed back to the hotel to pack up a bit and still made it back in time to make it into the museum. That was one long line. We waited about two and a half hours. Fortunately, we're the type of travelers who are content to run through museums, targeting a few key pieces of art. We also happened to travel to Italy the best possible time--Cultural Awareness Week--so admission was free. That made the wait and the run through all the more worthwhile. Here were our highlights:

Botticelli's The Birth of Venus

Rembrandt's Self-Portrait 1669

Caravaggio's Bacchus

Michelangelo's Holy Family

After speed walking through the museum and walking through Piazza della Signori, which I imagine was the inspiration for the opening scene of the musical The Light in the Piazza, we made it back to our hotel about half hour past out check out time. I was a little nervous that they would charge us extra, but the man at the desk was quite laid back. "Oh, take your time!" Phew. We packed our bags and said goodbye to Florence with a quick return trip to the Trattoria da I Matti for lunch because it was so yummy the first time around. Next stop--Rome.

The statue on the left is the stone version of David,
and the little alley leads to the Uffizi Gallery.