Overdosing on Art! Florence, April 23

Today, we continued to see a great deal of art.  We were really lucky to get in at the Uffizi Museum as we did not call for advance reservations, but we were able to jump the line by being smart and savvy, having read that, for €4 extra, you can reserve a time.  We were there at just after 9 and there were only 4-5 people ahead of us and we got tickets for 9:45!  And, by that point, the line was 2 hours long.

We followed Rick Steves guide on my iPad mini which helped a lot.  Highlights:
-collection of Roman statues collected in one amazing room specially designed by the Medicis to show them. 
-the Botticellis especially "The Allegory of Spring," "the Adoration of the Magi" with Botticelli in the painting along with Lorenzo de Medici and "The Birth of Venus".  The last Botticelli, "Slander" was painted during the repression of Savonarola and was much gloomier, ending the Florentine Renaissance. tricky! 

We "did" almost the entire museum and were mighty footsore and ready for lunch.  We had a really great meal at Bistro del Mare, recommended by our landlord.  It was along the river in an old building, but sleek and modern, too.  Mark had a fish and rice first plate, followed by a big tuna, egg, olive salad as his second plate.  I had gnocchi pesto as my first and tuna as my second.  It was elegant, delicious, with attentive service and only €13.90 each.

Later, we took another walk.  I bought two pairs of gloves from a street vendor, one green, unlined, and a black lined pair.  We strolled the river bank in the sun, sat on a bridge and watched people.  We also saw a limousines pull up to a posh villa with well heeled, highly dressed attendees.  Trumpeters in old dress heralded their entrances.

Fun fact about Florence.  House numbers are in black.  Business numbers are in red and, very confusingly, they do not correspond, which can make locating an address very