Happy Accidents

Today started early with a delish breakfast at a pasticceria around the corner. Such a cute place in Santo Spirito. 

We had an early entry time for Uffizi Museum, so we headed there after we ate and each drank two cappuccinos. It was a nice rainy morning. We both really like the early mornings here because there are no people out yet. It was nice to have an early entry to the museum. The notable artists I was looking forward to seeing works from were DaVinci and Botaccelli. The museum was empty when we arrived. That changed very quickly. 

After the museum we planned to head back to the Market Centrale to try a few things we had seen the day before. Brian has been circling the Florentine steak. We found a place giving steak samples so we got a few. We ended up getting some samples and some bruschetta. We tried a garlic and truffle cream sauce which was really good. We decided on three toasts to share. One had brie topped with figs, honey, and shaved truffles. Another had brie, walnuts, truffles, and a honey drizzle. The last had avocado, tomato, and onions. It seemed plain after the taste combinations of the other two. We couldn’t find any other food we wanted there so we headed back out into the rain and found ourselves having another cappuccino and a tiramisu to complete our well balanced lunch. 

After lunch it was time for a quick stop at the flea market at Santo Spirito where I got a couple cute things and then mini rest while we figured out how we wanted to spend the afternoon. We decided to take a bus to Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy the views of the city. The bus stop was easy to find. The bus came on time. Paying for the bus was not quite as easy and the less than helpful bus driver made our ride a little odd. Another confused couple was on the bus and asking us for help that we couldn’t give. Actually after the first or second stop we ended up getting off at the wrong stop. Bus drove away. We stood there for a minute in an unfamiliar place kinda pissed and kinda not. One of those “it is what it is” moments. We started walking up the hill to our destination. Turns out that we were in a pretty bougie area- Brian called it the Beverly Hills of Florence. It was actually a beautiful walk and we had no idea where we were going. Google maps said we had a 30 minute walk ahead of us. Sun was shining. No one was on the path at first. It was pretty nice being lost. We came upon some signs that confirmed we were heading in the right direction. We ended up landing in the place we were headed and found out we had a bonus place as well. See, yesterday I could see a castle up on the hill when I was up in the Duomo. We had joked about walking to it. Well, we did. Only it wasn’t a castle. It was a cathedral. San Mineato Al Monte. It was quite pretty and had gorgeous views.

It was totally a happy accident that ended up leading us to a rose garden that led down the hill back into the hustle and bustle of the city. We had gone in a giant circle and we were pretty happy. 

You know where we went after that huge walk don’t you?  Lavender gelato! Yes! 

Two exhausted travelers. Thirty two thousand five hundred steps today. And yes, he got his Florentine Bisteca. He had his giant steak for dinner and it sounded like it was really good. 

And now, bed. We are all packed up and ready to head to Siena by bus in the morning. We will not get off at the wrong stop this time. Florence has been great and we have covered so much territory here!