ITALY Florence | Day 9

Firenze {Florence}

On our walk to the Uffizi Gallery

DAY 9: After a lovely hotel breakfast of cheesy eggs, croissants, more pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice... {boy, do I miss those breakfasts when I'm eating yogurt and granola or waffles now}, we decided to adjust our itinerary a little bit.  I wanted to make sure we got into the Uffizi Gallery so we went there first thing after they opened.  The Uffizi was huge and overwhelming. We purchased audioguides {which helped us to appreciate the art by telling us more about the backstory} but Jake and I both agreed that next time we travel, we want to do personal guided tours as much as possible.  The most famous piece of art in this gallery is probably The Birth of Venus, which was one of my favorite paintings that we saw.  Again, no photos allowed but here are some of my favorites we saw via wikipedia.

The Annunciation, Leonardo Da Vinci, circa 1472

The Birth of Venus, Botticelli, circa 1486

Federico da Montefeltro & Battista Sforza, Piero della Francesca, circa 1472

After the incredible Uffizi Gallery, we headed to the Bargello {which used to be a barrack and a prison}.  This Palazzo del Podestà, as it was originally called, is the oldest public building in Florence.  Executions took place in the courtyard below until 1786.  At this point, my feet were killing me again and we ended up kind of rushing through this site because I was anticipating what was coming up next.  We knew our boundaries pretty well of how much we could handle in one day, but there were some hiccups.  There were also a few times where I didn't want to skip anything we had planned, so we I had to stick it out.  For some reason, I had all the foot troubles and Jake's only foot issues were a little bit of swelling.  No fair!    

Walking to the Bargello

Inside the Bargello, 2nd floor

One of my favorite statues

Description of statue above

Grand, exterior staircase

Courtyard where executions were held until 1786

We took at taxi to lunch at Tiberio Trattoria, where we had pasta for lunch. My pasta had a special surprise underneath the pile of noodles! Delicious, fresh ricotta! I also had a salad with melon which was a delicious way to end my lunch. Yummy!

Lunch spot!

Jake's pasta

My pasta {with ricotta underneath}!! Delish!

A frame worthy shot!

Amazing art above a doorway

After lunch, we made it back to the main square {pretty far from our lunch spot} and found the Duomo Museum which Rick Steve's recommended as an underrated museum that had really fascinating "retired" pieces from the main duomo {or, church} in Florence.  Just by chance, there was an English tour scheduled to start about 5 minutes after we arrived.  It cost a little extra, but was totally worth it! Our tour was lead by an art history major from Portland who had been living in Florence for several years pursuing her degree.  The 1 hour tour was fascinating! I highly recommend doing in person tours wherever possible. The real Gates of Paradise are housed here, but were under restoration {until Sept 2012, I believe}, so we didn't get to see them!! :(

Circa 1 BC

These busts used to be on the front of the duomo

All they recovered was the head {John the Baptist}. Wonder what happened to the body.

Statues from different styles and eras of biblical figures

Choir Loft

Michaelangelo's unfinished pieta which was to be part of his burial tomb

After the Duomo Museum, we had the best gelato in the city! Actually... best gelato of our entire trip! We had to take a taxi ride which cost about 10 euros each way, but it was totally worth it! The gelato place was recommended by the NY Times here. It's called Badiani -- and I still dream of it now.  Their signature flavor is called Buontalenti {named after the supposed inventor of gelato WHAAAT?} and I highly recommend trying it! We also used LUXE city guides to help us pick out what to see and do on our trip and they described the flavor as - the best vanilla ice cream you have ever had multiplied by 1,000! I wholeheartedly agree!

Badiani! We made it!

All the delicious flavors!

Guess which cup was mine? {Hint: the bigger one!}

Look how happy I am after my gelato!

Next, we headed to Santa Maria Novella Church and the Perfumery. The perfumery was one of my favorite things! There were no photos allowed in the church, but here is what the church looked liked from the outside. Gorgeous, right?

The Santa Maria Novella Perfumery is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world.  The store in Florence opened to the public in 1612, but the fragrances and body products are based on recipes that the Dominican friars of Florence had been developing (using herbs from the monastery gardens) since the 13th century. It was held by the Dominicans until the late 19th century when it became a private business. Today they market a wide range of fragrances, bath and body products, and home fragrances.

Santa Maria Novella Church

Santa Maria Novella Perfumery

Inside the perfumery

Notice all the potions behind me

After visiting the Perfumery, we went back to our hotel for the usual rest and relaxation time.  We had dinner reservations at 7:30 at  Il Santo Bevitore {recommended by our travel agent}.  It did not disappoint! There was a very romantic atmosphere with dim lighting and a lot of wine bottles.  We liked our food so much we forgot to take a picture of the main course! 

Il Santo Bevitore

The cheese and meat station {hand carved}

Our bottle of wine {I also loved the candle stick}

Meat and cheese and deliciousness!

Crem Brulee and Cheesecake for dessert

View of our room from the outside {we were on the 5th floor}!

Phew... I am tired just re-reading this recap. This might have been one of our busiest days of our whole trip! But, I have no regrets. We enjoyed every single minute of it!