Nancy had some asthma problems before going to sleep, but she slept soundly all night. There was some street noise but it was mainly muffled by the very strong windows and shutters. There was some singing during the night as some people were obviously drunk.

Breakfast in the morning was very quiet. We were the only two people in the breakfast room. While the breakfast was good; it paled in comparison to the Savhotel in Bologna.

Our plan for the day was to visit 3 places and eat at our favourite place in the evening. We go more than that done.

First was Museo (museum) of the Duomo. Our guide book said this would be a good candidate not to miss. It was. The "Opera di sanata maria del fiore or OPA for short was excellent. In it are housed artifacts (statuary, artifacts, paintings) from the Duomo which could no longer be kept unprotected. In fact many had been removed over the centuries and some ended up in people's homes. The flood in 1996 also caused problems and others were added. We were allowed to take non-flash pictures... what a relief; I didn't have to skulk. We also purchased an audio guide which explained each room and the artifact. We spend about 2 hours here, more than we figured.

Next we were off to see "David". He is now housed inside to protect from acid rain and anarchists. We waited in line in the hot sun partly. We met a couple from P.E.I. (non-Acadians). So we spent the time talking and the time passed quickly. We also became aware that priority went to PRE-BOOKED groups and individuals. One girl came by and offered a quick entrance for 30 euros. It was triple the price. No one really decided to opt for this. The price turned out to be 10 euros each. Everybody underwent scanning and luggage bags x-rayed.
This is an actual illegal photo.

David was in the main room at the end under a dome. He was as good as he had made up to be. 519 cm tall, twice life-size. There were no photos allowed, but when did that stop me. I was not the only one. I was warned once after I had taken my second shot. It was well worth a reprimand.

There was a lot more art but we had seen a lot and the Museo so we didn't stay long.

By this time 1:30-ish we were getting hungry so we headed to the Hot-Spot Ristorante we had dined at the day before. We had pizza and crepe with a beverage. They gave us a 10% discount for repeat business. Great !

We then tried to figure out where we were to go for the attraction ticket we had bought the night before. We thought it was for the Uffizi Museo but it turned out to be for the Piti Palace. Although there was a time for admission on the ticket, the guy at the Uffizi said we could go any time so we went. It was tiring to get to the Piti Palace and then we had to climb 5 flights of stairs. However, the displaces were excellent. They watched like hawks so we had difficulty taking photos. However, half-way through I noticed a window uncovered. The window looked out on the entire city and it was a great place for a photo-op without a hassle.

We then went down 4 floors to visit another more elaborate part of the palace... it was elaborate. The amount of time spent hand-painting domes in this castle was staggering.

From here we decided to eat at our favourite ristorante since they had the 9.8 euro special on at 6 pm. So we poked along, looking in stored, drinking more water.

At 6pm we were again welcomed into the Hot-Spot by our waiter. Tonight we had egg-plant lasagna, fish in vegetables, potatoes, a fruit dish and 1/4 litre of red wine. I also had my cappuccino.

We wished our waiter good-bye because we did not know if we would be back on Sunday.

On the way back, there was a one-man guitar band in the pizza near our hotel so we sat to listen for a while. The weather today was sunny and warm (29 C predicted). But not humid. We have been blessed with excellent weather.

We had been out all day and Nancy said we walked our feet off. They were still attached though. Yes, even I was tired when we got back.