I woke up early eager to start my day. I had an Uffizi gallery tour booked with CityWonders company and was looking forward to it. My tour was scheduled for 1:30pm, so having plenty of time I decided to visit the Duomo. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday the interior of the Duomo was closed for the visitors. Oh, well, not a big problem. I was not too upset, because I knew that I would still have plenty of time to see it later. So, I walked around the Duomo, took in the beautiful exterior and marveled at the magnificent dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. Current facade of the Duomo dates late 19th century. It is designed in neo-gothic style in white, green and red marble. Right next to the Duomo, I enjoyed looking at the Florence Baptistery with its famous bronze doors, gilded with gold designed by Lorenzo Ghiberty, which were referred by Michelanagelo as doors fit to be "the Gates of Paradise".
I still had a few hours left before my Uffizi tour, so I wanted to explore different neighborhoods. My first stop - gelateria "Perche no", recommended by Tomaso. Their gelato was yummy but I think that Grom is better. Then, I checked out the famous San Lorenzo leather market, walked past the Medici Cappella and had a quick but delicious lunch (very good salad with ham, eggs and cheese) at Trattoria "I'cche C'eC'e", recommended by Rick Steves. It was time to walk Uffizi to meet my group for the tour. I found the place without any problems just in time. It is surprisingly easy to get oriented in Florence. All the street names are clearly marked and a regular tourist map was sufficient for me (unlike in Rome, where I had to use Google maps extensively).
Uffizi is one of the oldest and greatest museums in Europe and in the whole world. I have really enjoyed visiting it in 2011 and was eager to return. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I really enjoyed the tour. Even though the tour guide was entertaining and tried to engage the group I guess I was hoping for something a little bit deeper and more interesting than what he presented. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the masterpieces - my favorite ones were "Birth of Venus" and "La Primavera" by Sandro Boticelli, the only painting on canvas completed by Michelangelo "Donni Tondo", beautiful "Madonna and Child with Angel" by Filippo Lippe and "Venus of Urbino" and "Flora" by Titian. I lingered after the 2-hour tour in the museum to revisit my favorites.
After visiting Uffizi, even though I was very tired I didn't want to end my day yet. I walked to see the St. Croce church. Alas, I just missed the last entry at 5pm. Probably for the best, as I my legs were begging me for a break. In the back street by the church I found an entrance to the famous Florentine School of Leather, which I really wanted to explore with some shopping in mind. It is the best place in Florence to shop for leather. Expensive, but the quality of their work is outstanding. I made a plan to return there the next day when they are open. On the way back to the hotel I passed through the Piazza la Signoria in front of Palazzo Vecchio and saw many beautiful statues, including the copy of famous "David" by Michelangelo.
Since I was totally exhausted I decided to skip dinner and enjoyed the happy hour at the hotel with a glass of Chianti and some nibbles. I went to bed around 11 pm hoping to get a good night sleep and recover my energy for tomorrow.
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