So I forgot to mention a few interesting facts we learned about Florence on our bike tour - one of which is that Florence used to really stink and be full of shit, literally. And also that the famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, which is famous for its jewellery shops selling gold (I've dubbed it the Bridge of Bling) used to be home to lots of butchers, who would cut the meat right there and chuck all the leftover bits in the river below. Tasty. So from Bridge of Butchers to Bridge of Bling. Quite the upgrade.
Omar also showed us the spot where the golden ball which adorns the top of the Copula of the Duoma fell in the year 1600, it fell down in a great storm. Luckily no-one was injured. There's a white circular spot of marble in the paving there, but it's not marked any other way, so it was good to have a guide tell us interesting things like that. Here he is:
He also told us many interesting stories about many interesting people, all of whom lived a long, long time ago and had many long Italian names, and they not always made much sense to me as sometimes his accent got a bit thick. Italians talk very fast generally, so sometimes they're hard to follow. He told us though, which we thought was quite amusing, that whenever the Florentines don't know who made this statue or drew that picture, they always credit Michelangelo. He was considered superhuman. The Florentines are humble (for Italians) in comparisons to Rome, but are always proud and like to point out all the things that were invented in Florence and were first done here. Like architecture. Invented right here. And Florence was always trying to improve itself, has always been a very forward thinking city and was once upon a time, from 1861 1866, the capital of Italy! Florence is a know genius. Direct quote from Omar. So I thanked him for the compliment.
Right, so after the awesome bike tour we got our things from the hotel and needed to find the bus to our nice B&B up on the hill, which Ash chose and booked. However, once again, he didn't really know where exactly it was, only that we needed to catch the 11 bus. He didn't know where to catch said bus, or in which direction, though. Once again I realised that though I complain about always having to organise everything, at least I know what to know. But, I must also note, that we once again found the right bus stop (though I wasn't convinced at the time) and got on a 11 bus, which got us up the right hill. So the lesson I'm learning is that we will get where we want to go, and to not stress if I don't know where to go. It's a tricky lesson.
When we got to our B&B we got to choose our room, and I think we chose wisely - now two days later, because we chose a room at the back of the house and it turns out the road out the front gets very busy at peak hour. It's a nice leafy street, though, in the 'Beverly Hills' area of Florence. And it has a lovely view.
We were pleased to find out the bikes they have here were free for us to use in the afternoon, so after we settled in and changed out of shoes into strappy sandals and a t-shirt because it was such a warm afternoon, we hopped on the bikes. My feet were sooooo pleased to be out of those shoes!
We rode to San Miniato di Monte, a lovely cathedral on a nearby hill, with an amazing view and an amazing ceiling. It is also surrounded by quite an impressive cemetery.
Omar also showed us the spot where the golden ball which adorns the top of the Copula of the Duoma fell in the year 1600, it fell down in a great storm. Luckily no-one was injured. There's a white circular spot of marble in the paving there, but it's not marked any other way, so it was good to have a guide tell us interesting things like that. Here he is:
Right, so after the awesome bike tour we got our things from the hotel and needed to find the bus to our nice B&B up on the hill, which Ash chose and booked. However, once again, he didn't really know where exactly it was, only that we needed to catch the 11 bus. He didn't know where to catch said bus, or in which direction, though. Once again I realised that though I complain about always having to organise everything, at least I know what to know. But, I must also note, that we once again found the right bus stop (though I wasn't convinced at the time) and got on a 11 bus, which got us up the right hill. So the lesson I'm learning is that we will get where we want to go, and to not stress if I don't know where to go. It's a tricky lesson.
When we got to our B&B we got to choose our room, and I think we chose wisely - now two days later, because we chose a room at the back of the house and it turns out the road out the front gets very busy at peak hour. It's a nice leafy street, though, in the 'Beverly Hills' area of Florence. And it has a lovely view.
We were pleased to find out the bikes they have here were free for us to use in the afternoon, so after we settled in and changed out of shoes into strappy sandals and a t-shirt because it was such a warm afternoon, we hopped on the bikes. My feet were sooooo pleased to be out of those shoes!
We rode on to the Piazza Michelangelo, another hill further along, where there was another impressive view of Florence and another church, not quite so impressive. It was a lovely afternoon for bike riding and my feet we so happy to not be rubbing in those shoes, that we decided to take a detour on the way home to the Fort Belvedere, which is unfortunately closed indefinitely since a lady fell to her death there four years ago. The ride back to the B&B was a bit tiresome so we took a break before riding into town for some pizza and gelato. Both establishments I found using the Tripadvisor app, which I highly recommend. The gelato was amazing! Here's Ash about to enjoy his - caramel and cheescake flavours! I had Nutella and Mascapone and Hazelnut. So delicious.
However, all the fun ended when Ash convinced me to take the short route home. By this stage my bum had gotten sore from the saddle and I was tired. The short way home was also the steep way home, you see and it ended up being a long walk home. Well, some of the way. By the time we got home, it was shower, blog and bed. Which is exactly what I've done tonight as well. But that's a story for another night. Or maybe tomorrow morning? Buonanotte!
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