Tuscany to Florence

Today was our last morning enjoying the early morning view from our balcony. San Gimignano in the distance.

We packed up and managed to find our way to the Hertz Rental agent in Florence. A really good idea getting rid of the car outside of the city center. No problems with dropping the car and then a white knuckle ride to the city center.

We arrived a bit early and had to wait a few minutes for the landlord to arrive.  The apartment is cute, two bedrooms, living room, kitchen etc, just steps away from the Duomo.

It was on the "third" floor which in Italian means six 12 step flights of stairs. 

Luckily I was down the street when the landlord showed up and Chris was able to get a strong young child to haul our two 50 lb duffle bags up the stairs. I showed up in time to give him a good gratuity.

We freshened up and struck out to explore. First stop, the tourist bureau. Some of the attractions are closed Sunday and some sold out so we will have to rely on an exterior tour for some. 

The line up for the Dome was too long so we ventured into the Cattedrale da St. Maria del Flore.

After this, we wandered the streets and found a few interesting squares.

Some interesting street scenes....

Then we encountered the DNS (Do Not Shop) zone....

We made our way to the Arno River and crossed the Ponte Vecchio.

We had a look around the Galleria degli Uffizi and the outdoor statues.

The late afternoon thunderstorms started again and we made our way back to our apartment.

A few big raindrops and the bad weather was over.

Supper was at a really good and local restaurant that was recommended in the guest book in our room. 

Great supper and we returned from an early evening out. In Italian, that means we had finished eating by 2200h.