We knew that the Accademia opened at 8:15 am, so we got up early to make our way to check out the line, Giuditta was confident there wouldn’t be one. We turned the corner to find it wrapped around the building and down the street. I guess everyone else knew the secret. Giuditta held our place in line, Nick and I went and  grabbed something to eat and a cafe and  rejoined her in line. They opened promptly at 8:15 am, and in we all went. Once inside it was quite busy but thankfully they don’t make you check bags so we moved along fairly quickly. After admiring David, even pinching his bum, and giving our interpretation of the works (oh how I forgot how much fun traveling with Giudi was) we made the decision to climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniatio, since they sun was out today. The day prior we awoke to a thick fog that did not lift until after lunch and throughout the day it was cloudy.

Following Nick and Giudi, all while saying “I don’t remember this” every other step we found ourselves way above and beyond San Miniato. I have no idea how far we walked out of our way, but I know it was FAR. Thankfully, it was a beautiful walk and we were able to peek into some private olive groves which allowed for some amazing views of Tuscany!

Finally arriving at San Miniato, we had the most perfect day to take in the sites of Florence below. We entered the church to find mass in process, so we made our way down to Piazzale Michelangelo. I really hate  that this is where people stop and the furthest they go up, because in my opinion the view from San Miniato is more impressive.

Giudi was trying to get the early afternoon train back to Genova, but after our little excursion we were running a little bit behind. Instead of trying to run to get her train, we decided to grab some lunch before she left and then made our way back to the apt to collect her belongings.

We stopped at a smallish restaurant where we all shared some wine and a meat and cheese plate. I had my first cannelloni dish, which was very tasty, but quite hot, so it took me awhile to finish.

Once we made it back to the apt and bid Giudi goodbye straight to bed I went for a nap. No workouts for several months have really done me in. I was not prepared for the 10 miles a day we’ve been averaging. 

Rested we decided to venture out to look for souvenirs for the kids – sadly we came back with nothing. We grabbed an apertivo near the river, we had planned to just have a snack and dinner later, but the cheese crate that they brought proved to be more than enough for the both of us. Nick had another beer and me, my last Spritz of the trip.

As we made our way back to the apt we made our way through the square where Riviore is located. This is another place that Luca introduced us to that has the most amazing hot chocolate. I of course ordered con panna, and again just as delicious as I remembered it. 

We decided to make it an early night as we had plans in the morning to try to see the Laurencian library before grabbing the car to drive to Panzano.