Florence - Day 6 — Patti Part Two

Florence is such a beautiful city - the home of the Renaissance so it is a must to see some of the great art created here. The Uffizi Gallery has the greatest collection of Italian art in the world - and prebooking your entry ticket is a must. We booked a tour through Art Viva so we just needed to show up at the scheduled time and place and get right in with our super knowledgeable guide Tatianna.

The Uffizi was originally a political building but now an amazing museum.

The tour lasted over two hours and was jam packed with amazing art and tons of information. Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and Bottticellis to name drop just a few!

Top left is a painting by Michelangelo and is one of the few if not the only painting of his in the world. The Sistine Chapel doesn’t count because it’s a fresco. Learned that on the tour!

Both Julie and I have been to Florence and seen the famous statue of David so this time we settled for the fake David out in the square. The real one is in the museum Academia here in Florence.

We also made it over to the Duomo, the famous marble cathedral in Florence. I was most excited about seeing The Gates of Paradise which are on the Baptistery of the Duomo. Reason why is because the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City has the other matching set! The originals are actually in the Duomo Museum and two copies were made. One is in Florence on the Baptistry and the other in KC. I get to see them all the time but it was special to see them there and see so many people crowding around them for pictures. Just come to KC people!

Since I hardly ate the day we traveled to Florence I had to make up for it. Stopped for a sandwich before the Uffizi tour and had so many great places to choose from.

Focaccia bread with prosciutto, cheese and lettuce. These sandwiches are everywhere and I ate the whole thing!

We went to an amazing restaurant for dinner! It was called La Giostra and everything about it was great. Julie ate there last time she was in Florence and although we didn’t have a reservation we were able to get a table since we got there when they opened at 7 PM.

Complimentary prosecco when we sat down along with a tray of appetizers. We were craving some kind of fish and both ordered the Branzino with vegetables. It was perfectly cooked and delicious. After the appetizers we shared a Caprese salad with pecorino cheese. Will I ever be able to eat tomatoes in the states again after having these?

Bottom right was amazing tiramisu to share.

A photo with the owner! Wearing more rings, bracelets and necklaces than I own! But super nice! And he gave us free shots of lemon cello too.

On our way back to our apartment a picture from the Ponte Vecchio bridge of the lights!