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Interesting reading. I go back and forth to Florence a lot. Warning for visitors - when you have your first taste of Florentine food, you will spend the rest of your time, plotting and scheming, on how to spend the rest of your life doing nothing, but eating food in Florence. It is that amazing, wherever you go. this is true. Especially when you discover my favourite italian phrase "Lunch is everything" Once you dip that crusty bread in the ragu sauce and you fill your second glass of house red - a magic spell makes you want to sit there in the trattoria all afternoon!!!!! Even better if you al fresco and watching beautiful italian women wiggle past!!
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When is your florence trip, T.G. ? Remember when you go, italy is not a hotbed of shops selling italian western stuf. You will find hollywood films, dvds, magazines from superhero films, twilight zone, teen stuf, etc. Albertis is one of the few places that has a section of western dvds. have a hunt but if you find a find you have never seen, check the audio at the back. Aim for the ones that say Italian/english. Or you are gona hav fun working out whats happening. And check t.v guide in yr hotel rooms - u might get a Trinity western or Boot hill on one of the channels.
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Posted: |
Jul 21, 2016 - 5:59 AM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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Well, we're back and in one piece and we had a great time. However, I didn't find any of the places mentioned above, and it didn't matter! The cares of the world figuratively and almost literally melted away as we strolled around the streets of Florence largely oblivious to the heat, the thronging tourists and the relaxed locals. The food was marvellous and took most of our attention and money. Between us, yes, we had a little pasta and pizza, but we also shared a whole sea bream, glorious salads and astoundingly good filetto alla griglia, amongst other delights. Wherever you went, there seemed to be a piazza that you hadn't seen before just around every corner, and there were more bookshops there than you'd expect in a British city. One slight disappointment was the hotel breakfast - a continental buffet doesn't set one up for a day's exploration in the same way as does an FEB. Italian organisation is eccentric but seems to work. A family pushed in the queue in front of us when we were lining up to collect our tickets for the Uffizi and dared us to make a scene. It turned out that they were early so when the stewards came down the line checking reservations he pulled them peremptorily out of the queue and told them to wait behind a rope which would add about half an hour onto their wait. I couldn't help the occasional smirk in their direction as we were filing in to the gallery. And validating bus and rail tickets - I can see why they do it, but surely a ticket is a ticket! A little bit of research pays off when visiting new places, and I was delighted to find the plaque on the Ponte Vecchio commemorating Gerhard Wolf, the German consul in Florence in the latter part of the war, who helped many locals during the occupation and (as some versions of the story have it) refused the order to blow up the bridge in the retreat. There are other theories, but Wolf's unexpected role in the city's recent history is beyond doubt. Florence is the latest place on the list of destinations that we'd love to go back to one day - but we'll set aside more money for food next time... and maybe find a record shop.
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The Viscount Castletoddy goes to the most beautiful city in the known universe, and plans to got into a record shop? My! I got to go to Florence at least 3 times. I fell in love with the architecture, the countryside and did one thing almost as much as look at the buildings: SHOPPED FOR NECKTIES. I'm glad you had a good time, TG.
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