102 Meals: July 23, 2013: "You-Feet-See"

Today was Madelyn's first full day in Florence. After breakfast (fresh fruit from the market and croissants from Cafe Verdi), we headed over to the Uffizi for a day of marveling at works of art.

Because this was my second time through this trip, I did not feel like purchasing an audioguide. I bought the thing I should have purchased the first time around, the Uffizi Gallery Official Guide, translated into English. It outlines all of the rooms and mentions what each piece is in the museum, complete with maps and indexes. If you're coming to Florence, you should definitely purchase this, as it will be a great book for your coffee table when you get home.

We spent about 4-5 hours in the museum, looking through all of our favorite rooms. We then shopped around Florence, and bought some special items for ourselves. I bought a charm of the Ponte Vecchio on the Ponte Vecchio, and a charm of Santa Croce. Madelyn bought a gorgeous blue leather briefcase. Love the life here!

We then took a walk through the Boboli Gardens and relaxed a bit. It was HOT here today, so any relaxing outside was not as relaxing as it could have been.

We ended up eating dinner in the center of town. Madelyn ordered pappardelle with wild boar, and I had gnocchi in butter with asparagus. Delish!

Tonight's entertainment was brought to us by Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina. They played a beautiful chamber music program of Vivaldi, Bach, and Respighi. It was really lovely music, and the acoustics in the square, stone courtyard of the Bargello Museum were actually pretty amazing. Perfect setting for chamber music!

Tonight ended with chocolate-orange gelato from Vivoli, followed by Campari and Sodas at a little bar near Santa Croce.

All in all, a spectacular Florentine day.