Kevnjan's big adventure.

Thurs. 15th. Mar. Set out earlier this morning. Arrived in the city in time to take in a small museum at 9.30 Museo Biglio, in the Piazza Duomo, at the back of the tourist office, admission free!! A rare find in Florence. Worth a look, some real gems in there from 13th to 16th Centuries. From there to the Uffizi where we were pleasantly surprised to find we could get admission after only 20 minutes queuing. Very unusual. Spent nearly 3 hours soaking up the sculptures and paintings. Spectacular stuff, and wouldn't have missed it but after a while all the exhibits seem to merge with one another. After a bite of lunch sitting in the sunshine on the steps of the gallery we walked up to the Ponte Vecchio where Janet was delighted to find more jewellers than you can shake a stick at. Found her wolf charm for the bracelet. Walked back through the Piazza de la Signora which is full of more statues and atmosphere. We wanted to see other sites around the Duomo but the admission prices are scandalous and settled for an €8 climb to the top of the dome. A difficult and unpleasant experience, shared with loud mouthed students from all over the world, which has put an end to our climbing activities I think. The view was spectacular but no better than the view from Piazza Michaelangelo. We walked back to the station through a long winding street market full of leather goods and jewellery. Thank goodness the buses were running. Didn't fancy another long walk back to the sosta. Another great day, we really enjoyed Florence but I think tomorrow we will move on. Not finished with Tuscany yet though.