Day 61- When reality exceeds expectation

When we arrived in Florence it is fair to say we had great expectations. After a 15 minute walk through the main part of Florence our first surprise was our hotel, the Hotel Dali. This small boutique and budget hotel really is a one off. Set just a few blocks back from the main square this ten room hotel took up just one floor of a seven storey residential building in old Florence. Our host Marcus was friendly and though the room was very basic it was nice and clean. We quickly settled into the heart of Florence and it took little time for Florence to settle into our hearts.

As is our custom we spent the first afternoon in Florence walking and getting acquainted with the layout of the city. Our first discovery was the famous Ponte Vecchio. The ancient bridge crosses the river and was originally lined with butcher shops until the all powerful Medici family had them replaced with goldsmiths in the 14th century and they still exist today as very classy jewellery shops. Still the commerce and tourists could not spoil the view through the arches, which framed the view to the hills of Tuscany like a Florentine artist’s masterpiece. After a stroll across the river we headed up a long staircase and found ourselves in Piazzale Michelangelo, which contains a huge copy of the statue of David. The view was sublime. But a friend in Sydney (thanks Juli) had told us to head further up the hill to the carpark of a church, we actually went further and arrived at the beautiful Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte where the view was even more wonderful. Florence’s famous skyline with the huge dome of the Cathedral, set against the setting sun provided us with an unforgettable view.

Disappointingly after this perfect afternoon something happened to us for the first (and we hope only) time on the trip, we got horribly lost. We seemed to walk around in circles for hours (it was probably only one hour) trying to find a gate through the old walls surrounding the city. We eventually found the gate and the way to our hotel. We headed out for dinner around 9.30pm – which is still early in Italy. Pasta and gnocchi completed a wonderful introduction to a city where reality exceeds expectation.