Last sight-seeing day:(
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157622622391231/
10:30am: in the B&B in Florence after a bit of a hectic morning. Woke up at 6:15 and finished packing to get ready to take Renee to the Certaldo station and myself to the Florence airport to return the car. Went down to leave just before 6:45am and there was ICE ON THE DAMN CAR. And no scraper, of course. So I turned it on and we had to wait a few minutes. Finally it melted enough and we were on our way. Made it to the Certaldo station without much problem except that I took a wrong turn and drove a little bit into a ZTL so I hope I don't get a ticket for that - I didn't see any cameras in this town.
Then I set off for the Florence American Cemetery, which was on my way. I found a gas station with an open café along the way and had a croissant and cappuccino. I was going to put 5 euros worth of gas in the car but I couldn't figure it out so I gave up. After ignoring the GPS a couple times I finally got on the right road and found a Shell station which worked better and I put the gas into the car, just to be safe, even though I probably didn't need it. Got to the cemetery around 8:30am (Blue guide said it opened at 8) only to see it opens at 9. Ah well. Was a nice thought. Then set off to get on the Autostrada to get to the airport and I veered in the wrong direction and started heading towards Rome! Awesome! Got off at the first possible exit and found my way back on the right direction. Made it to the airport and had no idea where to go to return the car. Ended up circling a few times and finally found it. Parked the car and found the desk and returned the car. Now I just wait for what will hopefully be not too many speeding tickets.
Went inside and got my Customs form for the jewelry taken care of. Then I caught a taxi into town and he was quite friendly, asking where I lived and saying how he hates working on Sunday morning and would rather be in bed. Wouldn't we all! Made it here to the B&B just before 10. She said my room would be ready soon so I asked if I could just stay in the tea room with the internet cable and catch up on the 200+ emails waiting for me.
12:45pm: Back in the room for a breather since I walked by. Went first past the baptistery and finally after all these times it was open and I went in. It's gorgeous. The dome is covered in gold mosaics of biblical scenes. Snapped a bunch of pictures and went off to Palazzo Medici-Riccardi to hopefully finally see the Chapel of the Magi. Finally!!! It is gorgeous, the painting on the walls is so bright and detailed. It's a tiny room so they limit it to only a certain number of people at once. So you can get really up close to the frescoes. Then you can walk through some other rooms filled with tapestries and furniture and cool things. Wandered back down and got a sandwich at I Fratellini again. Kept wandering through Piazza della Signoria and laughed at the very long line at the Uffizi. Wandered back up and got a gelato at my beloved Perche No (my last gelato for who knows how long? :( ) before stopping at the B&B for a breather.
6:30pm: been back at the B&B for a while. Wandered around quite a bit, across the ponte vecchio one last time. Bought a pair of purple suede gloves from a factory store, they're lovely and fit, well, like a glove (had to.)! Then, I really had not much to do… So… I went into the Uffizi… the wait was about 15 min. I was even a good girl and rented an audio guide. Jesus there are like 40 rooms.
9:15pm: back at the B&B after a tasty dinner at 13 Gobbi near the train station. I went there to try a dish I'd read about on a message board - chittaroni (a thick fresh spaghetti) with garlic, olive oil, hot pepper flakes, and pancetta. It was spicy, but really good. Then I treated myself to chocolate cake, which was moist and not too sweet. The place was definitely touristy and the waiter didn't even attempt to speak in Italian (and I got a menu solely with English on it), but it was good and reasonably priced nonetheless. By the time I left around 8:45pm, it was packed and people were waiting!
I can't believe my wonderful vacation is basically over :(
No comments:
Post a Comment