Florence: A Snapshot

Day 1 in Florence is what I would describe as a classic tourist error in judgment. Don't get me wrong - it was a great day. But we probably should have put more thought into how the day was structured. Chris and I got up early and made an agenda - we knew we wanted to see the Duomo, the famous bronze doors, the Ufizzi, and the David. Clearly a full day, but with only two days in Florence, we had a lot on our plate. Logically, we started with the Duomo, because that was the closest of the sites. After a sprightly early-morning jaunt up the 463 stairs to the top of the cathedral, we were greeted with a stunning view of the city. See these photos and more at this link. We then headed to see those bronze doors (first the outdoor reproductions, then the Ghiberti originals in an otherwise unremarkable museum across the street). 

Next, we ambled over to the Accademie, which is the museum that houses Michelangelo's famous sculpture of David. The line was almost two blocks long, starting from the entrance of the museum and wrapping itself snake-like around two more buildings before settling in a patch of hot, bright sunlight. Chris and I squinted at the end of the line for a good ten minutes without moving an inch, and then decided to try our luck at the Ufizzi. Perhaps we should have known that the line to get into the biggest and most famous of the museums in Florence would at least three hours long by the time we arrived at noon. Here, we waited thirty minutes before giving up and ditching the line in favor of lunch.

Lunch, however, was a success. We climbed a large hill at one end of the city to the cafe at the top and enjoyed some delicious sandwiches along with the view. 

Dinner that night was one of the best meals I had in Italy. I ordered tagliattelli with fresh artichokes. And you know it's good when the waiter takes your order and then heads to the bar to chop up those artichokes and take them back into the kitchen.