A Full Day in Florence

Today we have a full day, which is surprising for us as we try not to fill our days with too much but with only two days in Florence we have had to reserve a few things and today is one of those days.

The alarm goes off at 745!  But we take our time waking up. First I am wondering "where the heck am I".  Four different beds in six days!  But as I wake and realize I am in Florence Italy!

Bernie makes tea and we enjoy some orange juice, cereal and tea with some fruit.  It is nice to have the space and time this morning to have some normal comforts.

We leave around 9:15 and we have a few things planned.

We are early for our tour so we stop at a coffee shop and enjoy our espresso at the counter.  Okay we are fuelled up for the day.

First thing planned is a walking tour that we booked thru Viator.  This is the first time I have ever used them. It is a great site that acts as a middleman for tour providers and the tourists. It is easy to navigate, book, pay for and receive tickets. 

This walking tour is 2.5 hours and is reasonably priced and we see a lot.  Here is a link to the tour we booked.  There was around 16 in our group and we were given earphones and receivers so we can hear our guide easily.  I really like this as we don't have to bunch around her to hear but can stand back at a site and hear her and take in the whole area.

We visit Orsanmichele Church first

Piazza della Republica

hmm a segway tour could be fun

Then to the Baptistry and doors and The Duomo

top of the Duomo which you can climb

Medici Palace

San Lorenzo Church

Santa Maria Novella Church and Piazza (we didn't go in the church)

Then across the Ponte Santa Trinta to Santo Spirito Church

A quick gelato stop that is included in the tour.

Pitti Palace

Ponte Vecchio

see the crowds trying to get on the bridge

Piazza della Signoria

Okay we are done!  The Piazza is busy (again we find it crazy but everyone keeps saying this is nothing you should see it in the summer).

We want to get away from the crowds and we stroll down a narrow street (Borgo dei Greci) for a few blocks till the crowds are minimal.  We spot a small family run restaurant - perfect.

Lunch is good, simple, inexpensive and just what we needed. 

We had pre reserved our Uffizi tickets for 1430.  If you haven't read my blog about reserving your tickets for major sites check it out here. 

Thank goodness we did pre reserve because the line for tickets is long (again not so bad compared to peak season). We go to the booth to pick up our tickets and then to the next door to gain access to the museum.

We have our Rick Steve's audio guides (which are free) downloaded on our phones.  A blog I wrote just about travelling thru Europe with Rick Steves can be found here.


The Rick Steve's audio guide starts out great but then some of the exhibits have moved because of restoration so we had to keep looking for the right spot on the guide to the right art piece.  Patience was in order.

Considering it wasn't very busy we thought it was busy.  Tour groups caused bottle necks.

Crazy how some people just go around taking picture after picture of the art pieces without really looking at the pieces. Why not buy a book with professional pictures of the art then.  Enjoy the art! Don't look at it through a lense.

Personally I found the photographers to be very annoying. People wanted pictures of themselves with the art, this caused more crowds! Also people had a hard time getting around as you had to keep dodging photographers.  Really wish the gallery would just ban photography completely. At least I didn't see too many selfie sticks!

Overall I loved the Ufizzi. The fact I got to see art pieces I have only heard about or read about in person blows me away.  I feel very fortunate that I got to visit.

After two hours in the gallery we are tired. It has been a long day and I need some peace and quiet away from all the people.  Thankfully our apartment is close by.

Bernie naps while I catch up on my blog, read and enjoy some wine.

November 7, 2015 – Venice, Italy with directions to Valporetto

Today is our last day here.  All aboard is noon and we sail at 1 pm.  We don’t set the alarm but we are awake at 7 am and showered and dressed and ready to go at 8 am. 

Today I have only one goal, well two, but the main thing is the Frari Church (Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari).  We stop at the same coffee shop we did yesterday and we enjoy two cappuccinos and I get a chocolate croissant.  OMG I am still dreaming about that croissant. 

 We decide to just walk to the church.  It doesn’t open till 9 so we have time and our favorite thing has been the wandering around Venice enjoying the journey not necessarily the destination.

It is Saturday morning and we see many women especially, but some men heading out to pick up fresh fruits/vegetables and seafood from the markets setting up in some of the squares.

Seems like a Saturday at home, where we have to run and do our errands and prepare for maybe a meal with friends/family.

We are stunned by how many churches are here.  Some areas have two or three churches facing each other.  All are beautiful.

When we arrive at Frari Church and we are allowed to enter even though it officially hasn’t opened.  It opens at 9 and it is 3E to tour – we did go back to the window and pay when we were leaving.

This church is stunning and is often overlooked.  The art experience is well mind blowing.  The art here was designed for this church.  To see a piece by Donatello that was made specifically for this spot is special.  And really 3E! 

We follow Rick Steve’s Audio guide of the church and really enjoy it.  I highly recommend if you are planning a visit to check it out.

Once leaving the church we wander back to the Santa Margherita Square where we admire all the flower stalls, the fruits and vegetable stalls and then well the sights of the fish stalls, but not so much the smell.

 We sit at a coffee shop’s terrace and enjoy a latte.  It is fun to people watch.  Cost is minimal and certainly cheaper than the one in St. Mark’s Square.  A little more than the coffee shop we had coffee at first thing this morning but that is normal when you sit and enjoy the coffee in the square.

Once leaving the coffee shop our next goal was to get some wine.  Right there is a small wine shop called Nave De Oro that sells wine.  Sure you can get bottled wines, but the real charm here is the large jugs of wines that you can choose from and fill up your own plastic/glass jugs or for a small fee he will fill up his.  We get two 1.5 litre jugs (like they use for water at a fee of .40 each) and get one Merlot and Cab. Sauv.  These are table wines and the cost for one was 3.45 and the other was 3, total cost with the jugs was 7.25E. Oh and they were very very good.

Also we have had no problem bringing wine on board in any port.  Of course if we bring it to the dining room I anticipate a corkage fee but we have not brought any to the dining room as we have the wine card.

We walk thru the Dorsoduro area towards the Canal and pick the Valperetto at the Zattere stop.  It is a short trip back to the ship.

I have to say I am really glad we got the vaporetto 48 hour pass.  We certainly recovered our cost.  A single ride is 7.50 E and we rode it 7 times.  Although taking the Vaporetto is not necessary, you can certainly walk everywhere you want to go it will take time.  And with limited time here I did not want to waste time walking and/or getting lost. 

Also the views from the Vaporetto are beautiful and every time we rode them we enjoyed it.  It was also nice to be among so many of the locals.  The system is easy to follow, but does take at least a few rides to figure out the system.

The ship’s shuttle is a good option for those with mobility issues and who really only want to get to St. Mark’s Square.  But at a cost of $29 for 24 you are better off getting a ACTV transit pass for 20E for 24 hours or 30E for 48 hours.  But if you have issues with mobility I wouldn’t go the ACTV transit pass.

We loved Venice!  It sure is beautiful.  The people are lovely.  I enjoyed the touristy areas (St. Mark’s Square and Rialto) but now that I have seen them I don’t have to go back.  Really the heart of this city is the other districts.  

Here you feel a more connection with the people.  The touristy areas are basically touristy areas!  Sure see them, but then head out and enjoy.

Once everyone is back on board we decide to throw on our bathing suits and head up to the Jacuzzi as our bodies are so from all the walking (we have been averaging 20,000 steps a day) and a good soak is just what we need.  The sun is hot and while the Muster drill is happening we are enjoying the ship and some time together.

Sailaway is stunning.  Once again the railings are crowded with people but John recommends we head to the sports deck where the basketball court is and it is so very quiet and we can wander from side to side and not worry about railing space – great job John.

Here is how we got to the Vaporetto stop and back.  No need to take the people mover.  Takes about 10 minutes or 15 minutes if you walk slowly.