Italy, part XXII - Florence (iv): All'Antico Vinaio (yes more panini), Piazzale Michelangelo, more Duomo di Firenze and Ponte Vecchio

Wide angle shot from the Piazzale Michelangelo. Click to enlargen - but you should know that

I decided that the weather was nice that day, so walked from the hostel to Piazzale Michelangelo, which was a 50 minute walk I think? I took it slowly though, stopping for coffee and photos and taking detours whenever I saw something that caught my attention, and ended up taking considerably longer than that.

I had yet more panini for lunch, this time at a place called All'Antico Vinaio that was very highly rated by google and tripadvisor. I had to queue for about ten minutes, too. It was cheap though and huge, like most paninis here, so you get good value, but good grief I was really tired of paninis by the time I left Italy. Note to self: will branch out and eat other sorts of Italian food next time I'm in the country, not just the neverending panini.

Lital, don't you think the middle guy kind of looks like Alex from Spin?

Piazzale Michelangelo was a slightly steep walk up and I had to take off my puffy winter coat when I got to the top. I was highly tempted to buy some icy sparkling water from the Indian and Pakistani vendors milling about up there, but the water cost about 3 times what they did back in the city centre and I honestly couldn't buy it in good faith. I walked around, took photos, and enjoyed the sun and the wind, had a look at the David facsimile, and then began my descent back down, this time taking a different path. On the one hand it's always nice to explore new roads not taken; on the other hand I'd been waylaid by some people claiming that they were collecting funds for a rehab charity, and they had been so incredibly insistent that even I'd had trouble shaking them off. Needless to say I was not anxious to see them again in a hurry. 

I was thinking of enjoying my nice, quiet and idyllic long walk back to the hostel - the key word here being quiet - but alas, it was not meant to be. I was waylaid by a local Florentine man who was probably in his early to mid thirties, and he insisted on walking with me and talking to me. He did take me to a pretty nice rooftop bar and buy me coffee and show me some pretty interesting places around the town, but it still felt a bit weird, especially since I wasn't really in that talkative of a mood. The experience was partly ruined because my head kept ringing with Italian tourist scams I'd read online, and I was convinced that he was going to end up charging me 100 euros or something equally exorbitant, for 'tour guide' fees. He didn't, but I do tend to err on the side of caution, especially when I'm on my own. He kept talking about wanting to take me out for dinner later, and I laughed weakly and said that I'd see. Later on that night he kept texting me asking if I'd come out with him for dinner, and I told him I had an early bus to catch the next day and couldn't. He just wouldn't take no for an answer and I eventually just stopped responding, which I probably should have done in the first place, but I was paranoid that he was a mafia boss and would send hitmen after me if I was too rude. In any case, he's been texting me on and off ever since then, and ...... I suppose he was just a harmless local dude who decided that he liked me. Thanks, but no thanks. 

And now for pictures. 

Italy, part XXI - Florence (iii): Duomo di Firenze, Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio

I didn't get very good weather during my first Florentine day, as you can see from some of my photos here. It's not a bad thing - I did get splendid weather the next day - and you get to see the city in as many contexts as you can. Budapest comes to mind; I've seen her in April, September and November now, in rain and summer and heat and cold.

The second (fake) David, in Piazza della Signoria

Florence hurt my feet, with all of its overly cobbled streets and narrow paths. There were far too many tourists for my liking - Rome was swamped by tourists as well, but it was a lot more annoying in Florence because Florence was just so much more compact. In Rome a tour group would probably take up half the road, whereas in Florence they'd all be packed in one tiny alley, and you'd either have to find an alternate route or shoulder your way through them angrily.

The dining area in the restaurant

Florentine pizzas

And Florentine gelatos

The Italians really are stupendously well dressed

Italian gnocchis

Cheap cream liquor...

The hostel kitchen

My hostel, Plus Florence, was about 20 minutes by foot to the city centre and a relatively straight walk, although by the end of my Florentine stay (I was there for three days) I had begun to tire of it and Florence. Florence is not that large and once you've seen it all, you've seen it all. There was a nice coffee shop where I stopped to drink some coffee (named, ostensibly, the Caffeteria), and I skyped my family for a bit whilst having an espresso there (1.50 euro). What else? I miss this, I miss Europe in the winter, and I miss being on the road.