This morning we woke up not to open windows and birds chirping, but to silence. And, that was a good thing! Unlike the peaceful Tuscan countryside, Florence is all city, with the sounds that go along with it, such as horns, yelling and carts being hauled across old roads made of stone. So, we are happy that our hotel has extremely well made windows, that allows us to open them when we choose and close them when we want to sleep.  
 
After sleeping in, we went in search of coffee. After a week of having cappuccino's ready for us each morning, we were now on our own. Luckily, like wine bars, coffee is available no matter where you look. I decided that we should head to the Mercato Centrale, the large market that we found last week. It has food stalls for every type of food, pork, poultry, cheese, olive oil, etc and I thought we could find some place fun for breakfast. Well, while there are all the various types of stalls, there isn't much in the way of sit down restaurants. So, we improvised and found someplace that brought us coffee and I went and found pastries from a bakery and cherries from a fruit stall.  
 
Ken was running quite slow, so after breakfast we went back to the room for some R&R. Around noon, we finally were ready to explore Florence. We had reservations for the Uffizi, the famous art museum at 4pm, so had plenty of time to see some sites before then. We decided to start with the Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace on the other side of the river. To get there we had to walk across the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which was a mass of human beings and jewelry shops.   
 
We grabbed a couple of pannini's and found a place at the top of the gardens, overlooking the city for a little picnic. While the gardens were a nice respite from the crowds, they weren't spectacular. No matter, we enjoyed walking around and exploring the paths. Once we exited the gardens, it was time for another gelato!! (of course).
 
We had been told that even with the reservations, we could get in early to the Uffizi. Since it was right across the bridge and it was close to 3p, we decided to go ahead and head that direction. Finding the right place to pick up the tickets was the challenge, and we finally figured out the right door to get the ticket and then the right line to stand in to get into the museum. The frustration was being felt by many, as I heard one guy say "Mom! I have NO idea whether we have to go back to stand in another line, please JUST be quiet".   
 
We did end up in the right lines and they did in fact let us in early (didn't even look at the ticket time), and we had gotten an audio guide, so we were good to go.  Cinnamon and Jason had warned us that Boteccilli's "Birth of Venus" was quite close to the beginning, so keep an eye out for it. They had missed it and had to circle back, which is no easy task.  
 
We started to figure out the big ticket items, as there were usually throngs of people in front of them. Since the Uffizi is very large with three floors and many rooms of art, I asked one of the room attendants which rooms we should watch for. She gave us good guidance and that helped narrow down where we should focus versus wandering cluelessly (which we still did).  We did find the Venus, as well as Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation, Raphael's Madonna and Michelangelo's Holy Family. Having the audio guide was very helpful, especially in giving guidance to the amazing ceilings in each of the rooms.  
 
I continue to be amazed at how certain art works are considered famous, while others are not. What causes Venus to be a "must see", while the piece right next to it, which could be just as magnificent is not?  I remember seeing the Mona Lisa and thinking it was less than amazing. Oh well, someone thought it was!
 
After the Uffizi, we were ready for a break and headed back to the room to relax until dinner.  The hotel had given several recommendations for restaurants, and one was Trattoria Marionne, which is family run and casual. The tables were very close together and to our right was a family with two small girls around ages 2 and 5. We enjoyed watching the parents getting the girls to eat and keep quiet during the meal, and all indications were that they were a Florentine family out for a family dinner.  At one point, the mom took the girls to the bathroom, and the dad looked at us and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "quiet at last!". We laughed and said the girls were very cute and they had done quite well during dinner. He agreed, but said they were traveling and it could be a challenge with a 2 yr old. We asked where they were from and he said Houston! No way! They live in the West Ave complex at Westhiemer and Kirby, were in Italy for a family wedding and are originally from Mexico. We all laughed that we are half a world away, and still sitting next to a Houston neighbor.
 
After dinner, we wandered back to the little Enoteca where we enjoyed a glass of wine on Friday night. It seemed to be more locals than tourists, and once again grabbed a great Chianti, sat on the bench and watched the world pass by. Not a bad way to end the day.