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Florence – A touch of nostalgia

Florence from Pzzale Michaelangelo

Florence from Pzzale Michaelangelo

As with Venice, we had previously visited Florence with our children in early 1999. My memories of our previous visit are good ones and have kept coming back as we walked around Florence going past many of the places we visited with our children.

That said, one of the first things we noticed was how much shorter the distance between the Duomo and Piazza Della Republica seemed. So to the distance to the Pitti Palace. Perhaps not having a five year old in tow had something to do with it!

Duomo - Florence

Duomo – Florence

We had stayed in Via Strozzi, adjacent to the Piazza Della Republica previously, this time we are near the Duomo. How the Piazza Della Republica has changed, where the post office was on our last visit, there was the Apple Store. Via Strozzi is now the fashion hub and definitely not the cheap seats as it seemed in 1999! We walked into the foyer where the pensione we had stayed in was located only to see that it was no longer necessary to take the luggage up,for flights of stairs as there was a lift in a completely modernized hotel.

Piazza Della Republicca

Piazza Della Republica

Our visit coincided with the first weekend of the month. In Florence this means that on the Sunday museum entrance is free. Maybe so but I’m not sure that it’s worth quuing for hours to get in if you can afford to pay the entrance fee. I’m glad we opted to visit the Pitti Palace on the Saturday albeit at 10€ each rather than queing for what looked to be a couple of hours to get in for free.

Entrance Pitti Palace -Saturday

Entrance Pitti Palace -Saturday

Pitti Palace - Sunday!

Pitti Palace – Sunday!

On our last visit we spent a day in the gardens of the Pitti Palace watching our youngest chasing the numerous cats who seemed to inhabit the quite spectacular gardens. This time we went inside.

Ornate Ceiling -Pitti Palace

Ornate Ceiling -Pitti Palace

We wondered whether it might be possible to go back to the Uffizi but one look at the crowds made the obvious!

Outside the  Uffizi  - there are cars in there somewhere!

Outside the
Uffizi!

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As a result and consistent with our decision to stay out of museums Continue reading

Italy 2014 – The Christmas Break

For the first time in a number of years I had a full 2 week break at Christmas. Something to really enjoy, a time to relax, catch up with friends, family and to do some planning for Italy!

We had been discussing the idea of three months in a little town on the Amalfi Coast. We love the area and its breathtaking scenery.

Continue reading