I am unsure exactly what to call this trip. We only wandered around Florence for a day and a half out of our 4 days and yet we weren't so deep in the Tuscan countryside. Rather midway and got I hope the best of both worlds.
Steve organized us a kind of holiday within a holiday. Too many churches and museums they complained and so I was to do nothing - no booking of anything. Do they not know me?
Anyway, Whenever Steve books accommodation he upscales and so it was that we took a 15 minute taxi ride from Firenzi train station out to Villa Olmi. A stunning villa which looked more like a museum than a hotel with paintings dating back centuries, and artefacts precariously placed on antique furniture. If you have young children cross this place off your list as your travel insurance couldn't cover damage caused.
We had a huge room on the second floor of the villa that Steve decided could be big enough to be a basketball room (high ceilings) . It came with it's own master suite up some rickety stairs. Unfortunately if we stayed upstairs the kids would have been in the large room with the TV and comfy couches and so it was that we slept on the pull out while they had the king size and master en suite....
The large common areas begged for groups of friends drinking wine into the early morning, however as we are solo and the only long conversations the kids are interested in is about future movies Steve and I instead worked our way through the wine list in the lovely restaurant on-site. Obviously we had too much as we left the complementary bottle of Chianti, given to us, in the room when we left!
The huge pool and sunny gardens really helped set the scene and we even ventured out in the evening, walking all of 5 minutes to the nearest village and had a feast at a seafood restaurant called Bettolinas. You can’t miss it as it's the only restaurant there with a limited menu of seafood or seafood. Kyran went with the deep fried fish and squid and we were impressed to see he ate the whole lot – heads and tails.
I just asked Kyran what he loved about the Villa and he said ‘the Game’ to which he refers to the NBA finals. These went on for 7 games which meant 7 nights of 3am wake ups. Kyran is proudly sporting his Cavs hat that he’s had since San Fran and we’ve packed away the Golden State Warriors hat which was the alternative attire.
So Florence!
Well we spent 4 days in the area and 2 in Florence itself. We didn’t book anything (I'm doing nothing remember) and this was a failing as I really wanted to go to the Uffezi gallery on the Sunday and I couldn’t get online tickets when I went to book on Saturday. (Only sold Monday to Friday).
So, I got up at 7am and was queuing outside the door at 7.45am (which was already 100 people deep) in order to get tickets for the rest of the family. When I got to the front I was told I couldn't buy tickets for anyone not there ( clearly stipulates this in English) However I begged the guy to give me a break, explained that I am usually the most organised person on the planet and I would never be so stupid again as to leave things to chance! He gave me tickets for everyone from 9.45am and I was allowed to stay inside. So it was that I got an hours viewing with only a handful of people in the whole museum from 8.30 to 9.30. It was just the most beautiful experience seeing work by Michaelangelo, Botticelli and De Vinci up close with no-one around. When I went back 2 hours later it was mobbed.
Uffezi is the oldest gallery in the world, and houses a lot sculptures as well as paintings. What we noticed, was that some of these we had already seen at the Vatican and the Louvre. Most of the ancient statues and busts in the gallery are actually 15th century copies of the originals so take note!
Uffezi Gallery was started by the Medici family and their influence is all over the city. A kind of Packer/Trump of their day. They owned and influenced everything from commerce to the church and had two Medici Popes as well as a couple of daughters become Queen of France. There are lots of paintings of the family in the gallery and other galleries attributed to them as well as a private chapel. I think, if we came back I'd like to know more about this and get a guide accordingly.
We wandered into the Duomo (Santa Maria of Fiore) which is another beautiful cathederal. One wonders how there was any marble left to do my new floors with everything the churches have on the walls, floor, inside and out! You can walk to the top for a view (book in advance the queues were bad). We didn’t climb.
If you and your partner are going to have a domestic row, I suggest Italy is the place to do it. All those emotional Italians do not bat an eyelid when two parents shout at each other in a crowded square. With kids with us 24/7 there is no such thing as private anyway but I think it was triggered by Steve zooming off to the Pitti Palace which I said wasn’t open for tourists –Unfortunately I was right . Instead it was home this last weekend to the Florence fashion show and Steve was stopped by the security guards who weren't persuaded by his fashion status of thongs and basketball cap.
I do stand corrected on my previous blog as it appears that Florence is home to fashion and I just hadn’t seen where it was. All the shops are pretty much around the Cathedral, just like every thing else (by that I mean you can see the city in half a day on foot). Leather goods and gold plated trays abound but we do not need either so kept it to a pair of shoes for Erin and a skirt for me.
So what else to do in Florence.
If you are short on time but interested in art then I suggest you get a guide to walk you round the Uffezi. Do not book your tickets via the multitude of ‘skip the line’ internet touts if possible. Its very simple and half the price to buy them direct from the museum on-line. There are lots of things to see but for the kids you can keep it to the Teenage Ninja Turtles; Michangelo, Raphael, Leonardo Di Vinci, (didn’t see any Donnatello which is at the Bargello museum) and Botticelli (who isn't a TNT). Also worth seeing is the Tribuna room which is very ornate.
Michael Angelo’s David is in the Academia.
The Ponte Vecchio is Florence's oldest bridge and is full of tiny shops selling jewellery.
‘Pizza and Gelato Cooking Lessons seem to be a big thing here. Erin wanted to do it but all the tours were fully booked. I’m rather glad as after research I think a better deal is to book with a villa in advance to your trip (these are all booked up about a month in advance) a proper cooking lesson that covers pasta, pizza and gelato. There are several that cater for kids as well as adults and it’s a bit more unique and are easily found on line under ‘Tuscan villas offering cooking lessons’!
Or finally do as we did and walk the streets and people watch, drink wine and eat good food and buy a bigger size skirt because everything is feeling tight!
PS*** Late edition. One can also take a train to Pisa to see the leaning tower of Pisa. It's an hour away and you must book in advance (recommended in the summer months at least a couple of weeks) if you wish to climb.
Ciao
Ciao ciao