Culture, Cuisine and Chasing the Lights

[amaroo]

After a sound sleep and beautiful breakfast - it was time to say goodbye to Venice.

Water taxi loaded... we were on our way.

Daily life in Venice...









Our next destination.

 

[Pushka]

With all this wonderful food - how are the scales working for you?

 

[amaroo]

With all this wonderful food - how are the scales working for you?

We'll worry about that when we get home

Don't forget we're travelling with a couple of teenage hoovers

The kids tell me we're averaging 9+ km's a day... so we're getting some balance in the daily schedule.

 

[amaroo]

Florence - last visited 1993. We were young, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

After much review and discussion we decided to stay the three nights at Villa Cora, located near the Boboli Gardens with outstanding views over Florence. Beautiful Villa built by a Baron to woo a girl - it worked!

http://www.villacora.it/en/index.php

We booked a family room - 2 bed / 2 bath with terrace.

 

[amaroo]

..........

 

[amaroo]

The view from the roof top terrace and bar.

 

[amaroo]

The pool and hot tub. Pool is heated for all year round use.

 

[amaroo]

The villa











Exceptional hotel, property and grounds. They also run a complimentary shuttle between the hotel/city for those that don't fancy the 20 min walk.

Have no hesitation recommending this establishment!

 

[amaroo]

After sorting the room we set off to see the sights... feeling a little peckish we quickly found a small bar offering some delicious nibblies.





Given we had dinner booked later in the evening we didn't overindulge. A few hours of exploring would see our appetite return.

 

[amaroo]

Tonight dinner is Cucina Torcicoda

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...eviews-Cucina_Torcicoda-Florence_Tuscany.html

 

[amaroo]

Really tasty meal - particularly the grilled dishes. Lovely night.

 

[amaroo]

What do you mean we haven't got tickets!

Yes, someone forgot to pre-book tickets for Uffizi Gallery

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi

Quick chat with concierge didn't produce favourable results... recommendation is to front up and see if tickets could be purchased on the day.

Well, you could almost see the queues from Ponte Vecchio :shock: We joined the first queue in sight, and I headed off to see what I could salvage from this planning disaster.

Long story short, the queue we joined was for the people who had managed to pre-book tickets... the queue for the losers that pre-planned nothing was around a 3hr wait with no guarantees of entering the gallery today!

Solution - noticed a group gathering near the security entry and decided to try my luck. Bingo! A savvy group of entrepreneurs were offering guided tours for 12 people in 6 minutes, they had 6 places left... make that 2:mrgreen:

Yes, I paid 4x the face value at €45pp however, we got instant access and a guide - bloody bargain IMO.

 

[love_the_life]

Amaroo you are teasing me. Are the northern lights coming soon?

Did you do the Vasari Corridor at the Uffizi? Not sure what the bookings are like now, it was hard to get into when we were there some years ago.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Amaroo you are teasing me. Are the northern lights coming soon?

What happened to the patience LTL

 

[Pushka]

What happened to the patience LTL

Clearly you have not met her!

 

[love_the_life]

Ahem, I beg to differ and I have met her .
Oh, that's right, I am her. I think I am very patient

 

[amaroo]

Amaroo you are teasing me. Are the northern lights coming soon?

Did you do the Vasari Corridor at the Uffizi? Not sure what the bookings are like now, it was hard to get into when we were there some years ago.

Sorry love_the_life no more photos of the lights until we get home and can access the file on a real computer.

Wow, never heard of Vasari Corridor ... will need to go back and check that out!

 

[love_the_life]

I'll just have to put my patient hat on again then

The Vasari Corridor runs from the Uffizi (though originally from the Palace Vecchio) to the Pitti Palace as a private walkway for the Medicis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasari_Corridor
It is well worth visiting on a tour.

 

[amaroo]

I'll just have to put my patient hat on again then

The Vasari Corridor runs from the Uffizi (though originally from the Palace Vecchio) to the Pitti Palace.

I googled it - looks like a must for next visit.

Sorry about the "lights" the photos I posted in the "office thread" were all I got via an email. Huge number of other photos which need to be downloaded when I get home. Lots of family photos amongst them, but there is a large number of "lights only" that I'll post.

In the mean time maybe this will suffice for some "lights"

 

[OATEK]

I googled it - looks like a must for next visit.

Sorry about the "lights" the photos I posted in the "office thread" were all I got via an email. Huge number of other photos which need to be downloaded when I get home. Lots of family photos amongst them, but there is a large number of "lights only" that I'll post.

In the mean time maybe this will suffice for some "lights" 

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View attachment 62588

It is quite a climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, but as your pics show, worth the effort. Sadly when I was there last April it was grey and overcast, so photos not nearly as spectacular as yours.