We've just got back from a long weekend in Florence, and for those of you who have never been I suggest you try. I loved it and, even though I got stung for birthday and Christmas presents for Mrs Stu whilst I was out there, I can't wait to go back. The only problem was all the tourists: Apparently we went 'out of season' but there were times when you couldn't see the cobbles on the streets due to the sheer density of people. But if you like a bit of culture then get yourself out to one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I've ever visited. View from our hotel roof top bar. From the Ponte Vecchio: From a tower who's name I can't remember: I know, I know - another dusk one - I was inspired
Agree with you there, Stu. Stayed in a decent hotel just near the Duomo on our roadtrip to the Mugello MotoGP back in June. Beautiful place, but as you say very popular with tourists. Great photos, too. I took loads on our trip but we only have a couple of iPhone pics of Florence itself! If anyone fancies doing a MotoGP abroad you can do a lot worse than get a cheap flight to Florence and have a nice weekend there with the circuit nearby.
I also went there when over for Mugello GP, did you like all the Romanian beggars just praying face down everywhere? And all the American tourists wearing very short running shorts being refused entry to all the religious attractions?
When we were there it was plagued with old ladies wringing their hands begging in front of you while a couple of her toe rag grandchildren attempted to go through your pockets. Made the visit a shed more tense than it should have. The queue to the Uffizi went on forever but I only wanted to see the science museum which was empty. Nerdvana...
The old ladies with their begging bowls was a strange sight. Considering that they were so old and frail looking they couldn't half get around the city. I feel that there was a bit of 'Yoda-lightsabre-fighting' shenanigans going on there. The Uffizi was rammed too but we'd booked our tickets before we left so there was no queuing for us. It took us 3 hours to get around it and some of it was closed. I too enjoyed the Galileo museum - there is some amazing pieces of engineering in there. We didn't get into the cathedral as the queues were absolutely ridiculous but we need something to do next time we go. Oh - and I had a go at some HDR whilst I was there; it's the 1st proper one I've tried. It's a view from the window in the bathroom of our hotel. The door on the street at the back left of the picture is the entrance to Dante's house (Divine Comedy).
We ended up in the wrong queue at the Duomo and I ended up on the nipple of the dome. The stairway runs in a tunnel in the walls so my shoulders were skimming either side. There was no opportunity to turn around as the queue filed in behind us so I had no choice but to carry on. I am not comfortable in high places...
