Today is a travel day. We had an early breakfast to finish off the leftover pizza from last night, then headed out for a morning walk before the crowds and the heat arrived. A quick walk over the Ponte Vecchio one last time—spectacular without the crowds. You can actually move and see the details of the bridge. We then headed back toward the Duomo for one last look without the sea of people. It’s a truly amazing building. ...
Today we continued to explore Florence. We headed out in the morning to avoid the heat (it’s been really hot and humid 🥵) and the crowds. We walked across the Ponte Vecchio—lovely without the mass crowds—and up toward the Pitti Palace, purchased our tickets, and went inside to explore the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were amazing and massive—a beautiful space to walk and wander, which is exactly what we did. ...
Today we had a slow morning—coffee on the balcony, watching the world pass by below. We headed out around 9:30am toward the Duomo, hunting for more wine windows along the way. The Duomo is truly amazing—intricate detail in every centimetre. The Duomo doesn’t open until after 10am, yet the line to get in was already wrapping halfway around the building. Crazy. Laura and I have been inside before and have climbed the dome. While it would be good for the kids to see the inside, we sensed they were a bit over it and certainly wouldn’t have the patience to wait in the line. ...
Today we moved on from Rome and headed to Florence. Once again, we packed our bags and headed for the train station. This time, we caught the bus from just up the road from our apartment. While it felt like we could have walked in the same time, at least we were off our feet—which was a good thing after the past few days. We arrived at Roma Termini well ahead of when we needed to catch our train. Roma Termini has a fantastic food hall—Mercato Centrale. The place was clean and had heaps of very nice-looking food and drink options. It was actually surprisingly good and unlike what we remembered Roma Termini to be from our last visit. ...