Florence; Sunday, 30 September, 2007

Having discovered that this weekend was effectively see Europe for free weekend I decided to make good on the offer and try and cram as much “expensive” stuff in as possible. My first stop was just up the road from the hotel at the Palazzo Pitti. Built as a home for the Pitti family on plans rejected by the Medici as too ostentatious it still ended up in the hands of the Medici, after the Pitti family’s finances hit the rocks.

Today the palace houses a series of museums, as well as the former quarry out the back which has been turned into the spectacular Boboli gardens. In the space of a couple of hours, and without stopping even to have a quick drink I made my way through the Galleria Palatina, Galleria del Costume, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Museum della Procellane and then out to have a wander around the Giardino di Boboli.

Having done all that I then headed back across the city to the Accademia, home to the worlds most famous statue – Michelangelo’s David – and had a look around that before finally stopping for an exceptionally late lunch/slightly early dinner.

After my meal break I headed over to the station to pick up the bus out to Fiesole. Fiesole is a settlement which is much older than Florence, and has at times been more important than the city. Today it is a dormitory town of Florence, but still has it’s own character. After a crowded bus journey up to the town I had a quick wander around before stopping off at the Archaeological zone and the Bandini museum before having a look around the cathedral.

I caught the bus back down into Florence and had a brief wander around before marking the official end of summer.

October 1st is the first day of the winter season in Florence, with many of the museums reducing their hours. Most noticeable amongst Florence’s attractions changing its operating times are the open-top hop-on-hop-off busses. Today was the last day that evening trips operated on any of their routes, so to be able to see Florence and the surrounding area at night from a bus tonight was my last opportunity.

I boarded the Route B bus on the South bank of the Arno, near one of the old city gates. This tour went around part of the city centre, before once again climbing up the hills into Fiesole. The views at night, with the valley a sea of twinkling lights is spectacular. I stayed on the bus back round to the train station, where it connected with the Route A bus through the city. This took in many of the sights of the city centre, and then climbed up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo where is stopped for a brief while, before completing the same route back down to the Porta Romana that I had done the previous evening. Yesterday it took me nearly an hour. The bus did it in barely over five. From the Porta Romana stop it was just a short walk back to the hotel, where exhausted I headed for a relatively early night.