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| A comfortable ride |
Roma Termini station was buzzing when we arrived to catch our train to Florence. The high speed Frecciargento train was wonderful, definitely the most comfortable train trip we’ve ever had in Europe. We watched the Tuscan countryside flash past as at 245 km per hour it only took an hour and a half before we were pulling into Florence main station, Santa Maria Novella.
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| World Cycling Championship |
Neil and I are having a bit of a role reversal on this trip, on all our previous holidays Neil gets sick, usually with a cold. This time he is fighting for and I’m the one that’s coughing and feeling a bit seedy. So, under the circumstances, I was glad that I’d arranged a transfer to our hotel rather than having to find a taxi. The Florence streets are in a bit of a chaotic state at present because the World Road Cycling Championships ate being staged here, with the cycle route cutting straight through the very centre of the town. Our driver apologised because he had to take a devious route to get us to out hotel, but I was pleased because if we’d taken a taxi it would probably have cost as much as the transfer!
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| Very happy with our room at the Bernini Palace Hotel |
We are thrilled with the hotel, and certainly noticing the difference between a 3 star hotel in Rome and a 4 strain Florence. The room is large , the bed linen is real linen, the chocolates from the turn down service are delicious and the breakfast is served in a ballroom, complete with chandeliers. We are luxuriating in the plushness because I, pretty sure the rest of our hotels will be more low key. We’re also loving the fact that it is a 2 minute walk from the Palazzo Vecchio and the river.
After dropping our bags we headed out to explore, admiring the statues in the Piazza della Signoria enforce wandering g up to see the massive Duomo. The cycle track cuts right across the Piazza at the Duomo but they were letting people cross between racers (today was the women’s time trial, and a cyclist + team car would come screaming past every couple of minutes) We collected our Firenze Pass which provides our entry into all the galleries and museums, then dropped in to see the spectacular mosaics on the ceiling of the Baptistry which stands at the door of the Duomo. I swear the thing is a Tardis! The inside is at least 3 times larger than it appears on the outside.
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| The Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria |
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| The spectacular Duomo |
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| Stunning mosaic ceiling in the Baptistry |
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| The Medici Palace |
We had planned to visit the Accademia this afternoon but the queue was long, even for Firenze pass holders and my cold was making me feel pretty seedy so we just wandered the streets and visited the Medici Palace instead. We had eaten a late lunch and decided to have a quiet night in the hotel room, hopefully I’ll be feeling a little recharged tomorrow.
