A short, slow, and easy day in Florence

Though it pains me to admit it, I so desperately needed sleep that I slept from about 1:30 a.m. local time to nearly three in the afternoon.  I did not awaken feeling fully healed, but I was definitely a great deal better for the rest.

I decided to devote the rest of the short day to re-introducing myself to some of my favorite parts of Florence.  I wandered my way over to the Loggia Della Signoria, which features some lovely old statues

Click an image to see a larger version.

and a great view onto the square at the front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

I wandered from there down the courtyard between the halves of the Uffizi, along the Arno, and back into the city on the street oppositve the Ponte Vecchio.  I eventually wound my way to the Duomo, because, well, the Duomo.

While eating a bruschetta snack at a little place well behind the Duomo, I ended up in conversation with a woman from NC who was on a very long trip.  She elected to join the expedition to Grom, where I very much enjoyed a medio cup with salted caramel and orange.  Wow, is Grom's gelato good!

After rest, email, and writing, dinner was at a local place, The Cat and the Fox, that has always treated me well.

In addition to a just-right set of beverages,

I enjoyed an okay Caesar salad and a very tasty bowl of spaghetti carbonara.

Some reading and then a lot of sleep are ahead.

A gentle and good first day in Florence.