Le Terra, Day 8

We decided to go to Florence by train to avoid the driving and parking difficulties. It's easy to get to the train here, and parking is 1 Euro a day. We did the fast train up, and the slow train back. It meant a reserved seat going and a real time, which was good. Our train was at 7:13 a.m., so it meant an earlier start here at the villa, where leisurely mornings are the pattern!

As soon as we got off the train, we found a spot for coffee and pastries to get ourselves energized for the day. We had made reservations for the Uffizi Gallery, which is the only way to go, especially as it was the Italian cultural week when all museums are free. So tons of people go, as well as the loads of students. So even though the museum was technically free, we paid the normal price and the reservation fee to make sure we saw it. Our reservation wasn't until 2:15 p.m., so we started out going to the Ponte Vecchio and then walking through the Piazza Duomo. The line at the Duomo was huge (it had just opened), so we gave that a pass and kept walking towards San Lorenzo and the market. There was a demonstration parade going along our route. Turned out it was Ivory Coast people having a "Liberez (free) Gbagbo" rally, so we gave it a wide berth and headed for the market. It was lots of fun to wander around, although there's a lot more souvenir stuff than goods these days. Jean and Eileen bought the same style purse in different colors!

We went into the Mercato Centrale and oohed and aahed over all the lovely food. Here's a picture of Larry's favorite meat and cheese place:We were enticed to find some lunch, and did so at a fun spot in one corner of the market.
After lunch, the Faddens went to see the Fra Angelico's at the San Marco Museum, and the rest of us wandered about some more in the San Lorenzo market and Jean bought a scarf for a friend.
When we walked back through the Piazza Duomo, there was no line, so we spent a few moments inside.We all met again at just before 2 p.m. to get our tickets for the Uffizi. First there was a line to pick up our tickets, then the line to get into the museum (MUCH shorter when you are a ticket holder!), and then there was the line to go through security (which was a bit confusing and not terribly secure), and then there was the stairway way down into the basement of the building to find the toilets, then back to the main level and up the four long flights of stairs to the museum on the second floor. Phew! But oh, is it ever worth it! This is one of those must-see places, like the Louvre or the Met in New York, or the Prado, or the British Museum. It's not very big, especially compared with those places, but the scope and depth of the art, especially from the Renaissance, is just wonderful. It was, even with the staged entries, very crowded, but we manage to see all we could handle in about an hour and half. (Looking at art is hard work!)

After the Uffizi we went on a little errand to the Florence paper shop Il Papiro, found some gelato, and headed for the train. It was a lot packed into a short time, but we were ready to relax and head back to the villa. The total round trip train ride was 5.5 hours, but it was well worth the time. And we enjoyed the scenery from the comfort of the train.

When we got back, we went for pizza at Eureka in the Orte "suburb" of Petignano. Yum! Really good!