July 8, 2023 (Author: J)
Our final day in Tuscany was spent visiting Florence. For me, this was the weakest day in the itinerary. Florence is a city full of must-see attractions and deserves several days at least. Squeezing our time there into a day trip felt a little “check-the-box” to me; I would have preferred to skip Florence in favor of more time in the countryside or visiting another hill town. But we did go to Florence, so let’s talk about it.
Our day started according to a now familiar pattern: wake up, get ready, eat breakfast (more pistachio croissants for me, thanks), and board the coach. During our drive to Florence, the guides entertained us with a surprisingly competitive round of Disney trivia.
As we arrived in Florence and watched the other travelers put on their headphones, I realized we had left our whisper devices back at the hotel. I had a moment of guilt, then reminded myself that I was traveling with two other people who also hadn’t remembered the devices. It was only 33% my fault. We decided that we would just stick close to the guide and make do. That plan lasted about a block before Gabby noticed that we didn’t have our whispers and gave us sets to use for the day.
Our first official activity for the day was a visit to the Accademia to see the David. First, though, I had a very important task to attend to.
Social media humor out of the way, we divided into two smaller groups and entered the Accademia via the entrance for those with reservations. Although it was still quite early, it was already stiflingly hot; not for the first time, I was thankful that someone else was there to point me to the correct entrances at crowded sights.
Inside the Accademia, we made the obligatory pit stop. Then, our guide told us a bit about Michelangelo and the David before sending us off for free time in the museum. Although the David is certainly the showstopper here, there were plenty of other sculptures and paintings to explore. So, after I took a photo of the backside of the David (no one else in my family was even curious enough to peek at the David’s behind!) we had a wander around the galleries.
After visiting the David, we started our whirlwind walking tour of Florence. Due to the heat and the speed of the tour, I retained very little of what we saw. I do know that we saw the Duomo from the outside, visited the Ponte Vecchio, and had some gelato. The tour finished around lunchtime. At that point, there was the option to learn about Florentine leather or the option to begin the on your own time in Florence. Anyone who knows me knows that at lunchtime I eat lunch. So, the leather presentation was summarily rejected in favor of eating at a restaurant that our local guide recommended.
After a tasty meal (I had a stuffed eggplant) and some aperol spritzes that were probably ill advised given the heat, we set out on foot to check off some must dos for P and D. First, we visited the local football fan shop to buy a Firenze soccer jersey for P.
Then, we headed across the Arno River to purchase wine from a wine window. There are nearly 200 buildings in Florence with wine windows: small openings that were used to sell wine without opening the shop. They were apparently quite useful during times of plague. Nowadays, there are still a few businesses that use the wine windows for their original purpose. We learned about the wine windows on social media and D was intrigued. If you enjoy chugging a glass of wine on the sidewalk while getting the stink eye from the restaurant’s security guard, then visiting a wine window is a must do for your Florence trip.
After D downed his wine, we hoofed it back across the river with the idea of stopping for an afternoon snack and rest. We decided to stop at Caffe Gilli, the oldest café in Florence. It’s quite popular with tourists, so we had a bit of a wait to be seated. While we were waiting, I decided to peek inside the café. It was a short walk, but I nonetheless managed to fall and bruise my arm. I saved face by acting like I had tripped on something; the truth is that I had just collapsed, likely due to the heat. Fortunately, by the time I limped back to my family, there was a table ready for us. We ate our fairly lackluster snack and then decided to head back to the meeting point to catch the early coach back to our hotel.
Back at the meeting point, P had the brilliant idea of visiting the leather shop where ABD had done the leather talk. Our goal was not to find the perfect purse, but rather to soak up some free air conditioning. (The shop also has restrooms if you need them). As soon as we entered the shop, one of the clerks noticed P’s Florence jersey and struck up a conversation. We spent a good twenty minutes chatting with him – just what we needed to recuperate from the heat.
Soon enough, it was time to meet Gabby and Massi for the early bus back to our hotel. We had the choice of returning at either 4 or 8 pm. Because of the heat, though, everyone on the tour elected the early option. We made a final stop at a viewpoint for a last look at the city, and then made the drive back to Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda.
At the hotel, we had another dip in the pool and relaxed in our room for a bit. Then, we walked into town for dinner at a local pizzeria. The town of Tavarnelle Val Di Pesa looks much like any suburb anywhere, with rows of tract houses and small pockets of parks. The town almost seems out of place given the splendor of the Tuscan setting. We had a cheap and tasty meal at one of the local pizzerias (sadly, I have not retained the name). By the time we were done eating, it had cooled off a bit, which made for a more pleasant walk back to the hotel. Then, it was sadly time to pack because we would be leaving Tuscany the next day.
Travel Monkeys 