South of the River

Our final day in Florence and we headed south of the river once more, which, to be honest, is far nicer than the centre of town.  Escaping the crowds and smell of the city is a great relief, but we stopped in at the Uffizi Gallery on the way, which was its own special kind of torture/pleasure.  The wonderful works of art are tempered by the overcrowding, Instagrammers, multiple tour groups of 25+, and the self-indulgent who are more busy taking photos of every piece than to actually look at them.  Half the crowd from this morning will have hundreds of photos and no memories. The sculptures were great, and fascinating artwork, showing the absolute focus the catholic religion had on Florentine artists.  We will have fond memories and few photos - which we can download free from the net anytime we want of course.

However once over the river the crowds and piles of rubbish thinned, and the gallery at Pitti Palace and the grounds of the Boboli Gardens were sensational. Great art with a wider array of subjects, and beautiful gardens with views, sights, sounds and smells to delight. Lunch at a cafe just outside the Palace which had no English menu, and limited English full stop, was also great. 

I think I’m ready for Instagram 

This is Uffizi early in the day, with numbers limited, very hot inside too, at least one old gentlemen collapsed that we saw

Shame about the weather

Cross the river for a great place to escape the crowds and smell of Florence

Lunch

No English on the menu, however a lovely Italian guy having lunch with his mother at the next table helped us out

Actually, no turtle for lunch, we had to settle for Crostini, Tartare de Pesce, and Rose.  Food was great even without turtle. 

Our final night in Firenze was a joy.  We found a super wine bar where we chatted with a couple from Detroit over for an all-expenses paid wedding at a luxury Villa in the hills, then we wandered until coming across an Osteria in a small out of the way Piazza that did amazing pasta. The smell, texture and flavours were amazing, and cheap as chips!  No idea where we were or what the restaurant was called, but we made friends with / annoyed a great couple from Antwerp Belgium and a young couple from New York.

Welcome to the blog Antwerp and New York!