USA must be empty these days ......

The USA must be empty these days! We assume that almost all of them are here in Firenze - at least the youth together with their teachers. In every corner and especially in every line waiting for entrance to the museums they are dominating! We tried today to see the original of David in the Accademia and later we tried to get into the Museo di Uffizi (La Primavera, ....) - everywhere the waiting time was more than 2 hours so we gave up quickly. Time is too short to wait for that long time (if you are going there - there are some possibilities in internet to make early reservations, this could reduce the waiting time).

David, the copy

By the way: the backside we showed yesterday belongs to Neptun - a statue close to David!

So, what to do - no problem is this city!! We started some shopping (the next wedding is coming soon),  strolling around in funny hidden downtown shops where mainly locals are shopping. After a short lunch in a micro-trattoria of family Noe we had some rest and started later a tour with the Cabrio! First destination: Piazzale Michelangelo - the famous lookout point of this lovely town where you have the best overlooking view possible.

Very close Gue's most favorite church is located: San Miniato al Monte! What a great place to rest: a romanic church (roots back to the year 1000) with a wooden, painted ceiling and two-colored marble (white from Carrara, green from Prato) everywhere and a padre was playing on the pipe organ!!! This is much better than waiting in long cues!

San Miniato al Monte

Later that afternoon we shifted to the other side of the Arno river and entered the outskirts of Firenze - FIESOLE. A very small city, much older than Firenze. Etruscans lived there 600 years before christ!!! Another church of the holy Francis, an old roman theatre, a lovely main place with much less tourists and nice restaurants - perfect for a dinner. Wine, bread and ..... a Bistecca Fiorentina for two. This type of steak (in USA most probably called T-bone steak) is prepared in a special "fiorentene" way and one of the culinarical highlights (as our guide-books mention) in this area. So we tried it. Our piece of meat was about 1,3 kg heavy and more than enough for two. The grappa later was necessary to digest!!!

Seda with the rest of our huge steak

Fiseole downtown atmosphere