A leisurely breakfast this morning, followed by our last vaporetto ride, this time back to the train station - our train to Florence left at 10:25.
We arrived in Florence right on time at 12:30. We only had one timed commitment for today - a 2:30 reservation for the Galleria dell'Accademia, the museum where the star is the statue of David. We bought bus tickets from the tobacco shop at the station, then headed out the front to find bus D.
Then the fun started!! I could make a VERY long story out of this, but suffice it to say that despite asking the driver about our destination, we 'took the scenic route' and saw the train station a second time before we finally found the hotel around 2:30!! Apparently the Dh bus takes a slightly different route, and doesn't actually stop at 'Orsini', but would have driven past the door if we had known what we were looking for.
The manager must have seen how frazzled we looked, he was great. He assured us that the times at the museum were flexible, and offered to drive us to within a couple of blocks of it, so we could walk down - we were very relieved. We booked into our beautiful room on the top floor of Hotel David. This is really more of a suite - has a separate lounge area, and a balcony that has a view to the dome of the Duomo.
So, we did get to see the statue of David, it is very impressive - over 5 meters high. There were, of course, many other items in the museum too, but David is definitely the hero of the place. To think that Michelangelo carved this statue in the early 1500's is amazing. Like most of the museums, you are not allowed to take photos inside.
Once we left the museum, we strolled toward the Duomo. We stopped along the way to have a snack as we hadn't had any lunch at that point, and it was after 4pm. We had a tourist map from the hotel, and were happy to wander so long as we didn't head away from the hotel.
The Duomo is so HUGE, we had trouble taking photos - you can't get far away enough to fit it in the screen!! It sits in the middle of Piazza San Giovanni, so is surrounded by the buildings around the square. It is a very impressive building.
There were lots of souvenir and leather shops in the streets (leather bags were cheaper in Venice), also restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops. We were just strolling, looking at options for our free day on Thursday and getting a feel for the city.
We walked on from Piazza San Giovanni, through to Piazza della Signoria which has been the political heart of Florence since the Middle Ages. Here we found the Palazzo Vecchio, the old town hall of Florence, and it's tower (we could go into the tower of the Duomo, but this one would probably be better - Thursday). Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery (one of the great museums of the world), for which we have a 10am booking on Thursday.
On to the river, for a great view of Ponte Vecchio. Erected during Roman times, the Ponte Vecchio is the most ancient and photographed bridge in Florence. Today the bridge is lined with expensive jewellery shops.
We found a small supermarket tucked away just the other side of the bridge, and bought drinks for tomorrows trip, then strolled back along the river. Made sure we knew where the bus goes from tomorrow morning, then back to the hotel for Happy Hour - wine and nibbles in the front courtyard. Just what the doctor ordered!
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