Euro Day 15 - Thunder and Lightning in Florence

Thankfully, after a hot night,  we woke up to overcast skies and comfortable temperatures this morning. We had plans for a self guided walking tour of Florence with about 10 stops so we cajoled the kids into getting up and we took the early-ish shuttle bus from the camping ground into town. 

The first stop was the Accademia Gallery where the Statue of David is housed. We joined the back of the line as it was growing at a pretty rapid rate, and it had already wound it's way down the street from the entrance and halfway down the next block.  Still it didn't look too bad so we stuck with our plans. If we had known that the line would be 2.5 hours long, we might have changed our minds though!  Luckily we had the internet so I borrowed and read a library book on my phone and we followed the Australian runners as they competed at JWOC.

After finally getting in we were surprised that the Gallery was so small, and dissapointed that it was a bit crappy - it had amazing stuff but it was organsied strangely and the audio tour that Jon had was pretty hopeless.  I'd say we spent maybe 45 minutes there all up! David was impressive though.

Back in the outside world the skies were darkening further and by the time we go to the Basilica it was pissing down and the lightening was cracking right over head - it was very dramatic! We scuttled off with everyone for shelter while the normally sunglasses selling street touts quickly changed their product range to ponchos and umbrellas.

We made it to Ponte Vecchio just as the sun was starting to come out.  The bridge is supposed to be an iconic Florence attraction, but it seemed to me that it was just another chance for more touristy shops - this time it was jewellery themed. The city seems to be stuffed full of markets selling leather stuff that looks suspiciously like it might have come from China,  and they are all selling the same crap - one stall is the same as the next.  I shouldn't have been surprised but it did make me wonder what the point was.

After the river the kids got gelato and while I waited I took a photo of some more ancient street sculptures

Then we wandered towards the Piazzale Michelangelo which was quite nice as it was quieter than everywhere else.

 We had lunch in the gardens  looking over the city (it was about 2pm by then), then strolled over the shuttle bus to catch it home.

So Florence didn't wow me.  I've never been a fan of big cities anyway, and the markets full of tacky stuff took away from the overall ambiance. The big long wait for the first gallery didn't help but I had already noticed that during the 20 minute walk through the 'normal' non-tourist streets to that first stop that the streets were pretty dirty with rubbish bins overflowing and generally run down. I think it would maybe be impressive if you came in winter and visited all the galleries but unless you are willing to book your exact entry hour weeks in advance and pay heaps for the 'skip-the-line' tickets, then it's too hard to really appreciate all the art and stuff.  In anycase I'd much rather visit some mountains or a forest park somewhere than a big city. 

Having said all that we're off to Venice tomorrow! I'm hoping it will be different enough from Florence that we'll really appreciate it - as this is one of the stops I've been really looking forward to. Having an apartment will help I think as we'll be able to get out early in the day before the boatloads of other visitors arrive. 

Anyway - back at the campsite the kids read their books in the shade while Jon and I braved the crowded pool a few times to cool off.  It was a pleasant afternoon.