Frazier Blog

Woke up and headed for the Uffizi gallery. I was nervous because I  heard the line was a 3hr wait without a reservation, which I did not have. My strategy was to try and pick up a same day reservation or come back at the end of the day.  I had been told during the last hour the line goes away.

I took the long route to get there and somehow made a left when I needed to go straight. After I made my loop back, I had to laugh at myself as I was 100yrds away around a corner from it before I made my 15 minute  detour. O well, saw a cool church and more of the city.

Walked to the reservation office past the no ticket line, which the guard informed me, was 2-3 hours long. I was ready to have to live with whatever reservation time was left. I was shocked to see that I could get one for 45 minutes later and that they had them all though out the day. I picked up one for Uffizi and managed to get one later for Academia. At first I was confused as to why there were so many reservations available last minute and then my business degree kicked in. A normal ticket costs 10€, however there is a 4€ reservation fee. A tax on not wasting 2-3 hours. And the museum gets 40% more on all those tickets.

Grabbed lunch at a restaurant in the main square by the museum. Mistake.  Total tourist trap!  Oh well the pasta was decent for being microwaved warm and overpriced. They carry your tray outside to a table for you.  The waiter set mine down with the group in front of me, while both of us tried to say no he did not stop. Since he set it down at their table, the group and I seemed okay that I eat with them.  They were a group of high schoolers on a trip across Europe. Sounds like they are having a good time.  After they took a photo with me it was time for Uffizi.

Very impressive museum. I got the audio guide so I learned lots about how painting and art evolved. Each age impressed me in their own way.

After a stop for amazing gelato, or something similar I got this blueberry thing, I headed to Academia. Again always look for the shortest line when you have a pass of some sort. Always seems to save time.

Wow. The way the David commands your attention when entering the room exceeded my expectations. Others had told me that the copies were good enough. However in my opinion the David exceeds or at least meets expectations. The level of detail stunned me. I could not believe the veins, muscles and movement present. I even looked at it a couple of times and each time the statue impressed me.

Got some more gelato and headed for the Ponte Vecchio to see it during the day. So many shops selling gold jewelry. I witnessed a man watch as his wallet shrunk as his wife was offered more and more jewelry to try on. I walked in and enjoyed the view the shops have out over the bridge.

After crossing over I was ready to head home. My back was hurting even more and my feet were tired. I still love the view from my hostel door. Bam, Duomo.

Met some more Austrians. Shocking. Drank some wine with them and waited for the free snack and wine at the hostel. They had some pretty good pasta and cake thingy. It was nice to meet more people from the hostel. Met a girl who is 17 and traveling alone for 10 weeks. I never would have guessed she was only 17 and she looked and acted like 21. I think my shock annoyed her thou. Oh well, can’t make everyone happy.

Headed to a bar to watch the World Cup game. While the people make an evening out of this, the bar almost killed it. I regret eating there. Besides the menu having Italian titles as well you could have convinced me I was in America. O well. We left and headed to a bar. Got a recommendation for a gelato place and headed there. Great gelato!

Then some people wanted to drink more I was done for the evening but hung out a bit more. Earlier in the night I was challenged to arm wrestle by Ragib, I thought I would have an easy victory. I was wrong.  After I lost the group informed me that he beats almost everyone despite his unthreatening appearance. We kept joking though the night we should use him as a bar bet. A flower vendor approached and our opportunity arose. These guys walk around constantly trying to hawk roses. We made him an offer, arm wrestle Ragib; if Ragib wins we get one rose for the girl in our group; if he wins we buy two roses. After offering a second time and sizing up his scrawny opposition he agreed.  A bad bet on our part, tough looking street vendor. After a hard fought battle, Ragib triumphed! A great spectacle to watch. Turns out they are both from the same country so the vendor joined us for a bit.

Then on to a dance club. Being in a foreign country did not help my dancing skills. Oh well, I still had fun.

Left. Found the Duomo. Bed. and for those of you counting. 3 gelato stops in a day.

Trying to enjoy Florence more,
Paul