Bidding Farewell to Florence Soon - Day 4

After an utterly exhausting day covering so many gardens and peaks yesterday, we finally get to have a day of "RnR" as there wasn't much plans made for today! But never did I know that... (Check what happened later in this article)

Nonetheless, we managed to get our feet on the move with the morning breeze and our first stop was at the Mercato Nuovo (near Republic Square), which is a small marketplace selling bags, shirts etc. The purpose of going there was to spot the Florence boar (affectionately known to the locals as Il Porcellino). It was sculpted by a famous Baroque artist (Pietro Tacca) and remember to touch its snout for good luck!!


Mercato Nuovo

Il Porcellino

With the kind help from our enthusiastic hostel boss, we managed to have the pre-booked tickets to enter one of the oldest and famous art museums of the world! It was a once in a lifetime experience because I was finally having the chance to see the real portraits of actual art pieces which I had studied during the "Reading Visual Images" module back in NUS. Some famously known paintings which were on display were such as "The Birth of Venus" by Boticelli and "The Annunciation" by Da Vinci etc. It was really an eye-opener for me! Although photos were not allowed to be taken in the gallery, thanks to the Google Art Project, you can take a look at the art paintings here on Google!! - http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/uffizi

Outside Uffizi Gallery

For pre-booked tickets, you can start queuing at entrance 3.

At the end of the gallery tour, we went back to the Santa Maria Del Fiore church again so that we can get up to the bell tower as our previous attempt was not possible due to a church event. When we got there, there was a long queue to go up the tower but HH was determined to get up there this time, so we waited~ As we got nearer to the entrance, there was a sign saying that the journey up to the top of the bell tower will take a total of 414 steps and there was a health advisory note there to caution people. I gulped. And a chill went down my spine.
Soon enough, it was our turn to go up. After paying EUR6.00/pax at the counter, the nightmare began after going past the turnstile! It was a painful process, really. Winding spirals on the way up, tight & narrow walkways (when people need to squish and squash their way up and down) worn out stone walls and steps. To me, it was totally madness. I even told HH that it was silly to pay money and torture ourselves like that. But as we progressed to the top of the tower and stood from above, the view was filled with splendour! The character of Tuscany was written all over the town with their brownish rooftops and yellow-tinted houses, along with a close-up view of cathedrals dome and exquisite exterior motifs, it was very well worth the effort.


Outside queuing.


















People looking like ants!














The Dome.

The view of Tuscany.

Getting down was a chore but definitely much easier than going up.

Subsequently, we went to take a look at the luxury brands street along Via della Vigna Nuova and you can see brands like Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Gianfranco Ferre etc. Didn't get a chance to go in and browse through because we were rushing to have a quick lunch across the Vecchio bridge. hen our last stop for the day was the Santa Maria Novella Church, which was located right in front of the Central Train Station at Florence.

Luxury brands street.














Varsari's secret corridor.

Santa Maria Novella Church.