A Rainy Day in Florence

We woke to the sound of rain. Not to be deterred we set off for the local food market, in the rain, only to find it doesn't open on Sunday. Most of the shops open at 10 am and stay open late. We bought an umbrella each...very cheap and nasty. The rain brought out the umbrella salesmen. There were at least 2 on each street corner.
We thought the rain may have stopped some of the other tourists from getting out and about but the lines at the Uffizi proved otherwise. After about a 15 minute wait we were let in to purchase our tickets....just as a bus load of Asian tourists were let in as well. Once we were inside though the crowds were not too bad. We saw paintings by Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli and others. Some of the paintings have been hanging in the gallery since the 17th century. 
Wandering around seems to be the thing we do best. It was pizza and waffles for lunch and then back to the hotel to escape the rain (there was thunder and lighting by now!). We bought a few souvenirs, a leather bag or two, had soup for tea and bought wine, cheese and fruit for dessert back in our room.

The girls atop the Uffizi. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the gallery so, this is as good as it gets.

 We bought a watercolour of this church - The Bascillia di Santa Croce. 

Tonight's bottle of red. Amy thinks it is great because she can drink legally in Italy. The other night at dinner the girl just poured her a glass of wine....no questions asked. You should have seen the smile on Amy's face!!