It turns out that souls are in fact supposed to rest in Florence on their special day, and many places were closed, including our breakfast spot. Church bells rang out periodically throughout the day.  Fortunately, the laundromat, which by then was a must, was not so affected. 

We had an 11:45 reservation at the Uffizi. If I thought the Academie had a large collection, this was that collection on steroids. Once again, my friend Rick’s (by now Rick Steves and I were on a first name basis) audio tour was very helpful. The galleries seemed much more crowded and there were lots of kids, of varying degrees of conduct. Botticelli’s Prima Vera and The Birth of Venus clearly won the popularity contest, and I could not believe how close the fairly obnoxious tour guides were to the paintings. 

The most interesting part was to monitor the progression from the flat Middle Ages palate to the Renaissance perspective – it was as though in a heartbeat artists suddenly learned how to reflect 3D on a 2D surface. 

After about three hours we were “museumed” out, and decided to walk across the Ponte Vecchio to Ontarno (the other side of the river). We found a nice cafe for lunch right by the Pritti Palace (we could see the secret passageway where the Medici could stroll), and then walked up the very long steep road to the Abbasid and San Miniato al Monte. It was extremely old, original marble, ceiling and floors, Romanesque arches and amazing views of Florence. Supposedly the patron saint of the church was beheaded and walked there carrying his own head. 

Suddenly the sun emerged and we were treated to an illuminated view of the city the surrounding hills, and layer of clouds below, all bathed in a golden light. I also finally found a scarf I liked for only 5 euros. 

We walked back much more quickly. Daylights savings time had just ended so the evenings begin early. That evening we went to 100 Poor People, also a recommendation of our hosts, which was a fantastic value. I broke my no veal rule and had osso buca and white beans for 13 euros. A bottle of wine was 8 euros. It was worth breaking my rule.

The next day it was time to embark on the next part of our Italian adventure – Tuscany and Cortona. We took our time getting packed and shortly we were on a very new and nice regional Trenitalia train on our way to Siena. There was a threatening grey sky and the day after we left, Florence and other parts of Tuscany experienced Storm Ciaran, a bomb cyclone that wreaked havoc in the area.