48 Hours in Florence - Day 2

Firenze-d

Beautiful Florence from Palazzo Vecchio

After a quick and early breakfast buffet at the hotel, we then set out to see more of Firenze.

Breakfast Buffet at Hotel Balcony

PALAZZO VECCHIO

Being the City Hall since Medieval times, the Palazzo Vecchio is known for spectacular views of the town from the tower, as well as the magnificent Hall of the Five Hundred.

What to see/do:

- The Hall of the 500 has become more famous after it has been featured in Dan Brown's Inferno. It is the largest and most important room of the building. The beautifully coffered ceilings are 18 meters high and are adorned with beautiful frescoes. The walls feature paintings of battle scenes, and the room also feature statues and tapestries - all of which exalts and glorify the Medici family. The room was the largest in Italy made for a civil power palace. However, originally, it was built for and commissioned by Savonarola in 1494 when he was able to briefly overthrow the Medici family. He established a democratic government and created the "Great Council" or the "Council of Five Hundred" modelled after the Council of Venice. The Great Council holds their meeting in the hall, hence, the name.

Hall of 500

- The famous Dante Death Mask: also made more famous by Dan Brown's Inferno, the mask can be found in a small audit (hallway) between the apartments of Eleanor and the Halls of Priors. The mask was carved directly from the face of the lifeless Dante Alighieri, the Florentine poet and father of Italian language. 

Dante Death Mask

- The palace has various secret routes which include the Studiolo of Francesco I.

Studiolo

- The Map Room which features old maps of the world painted on leather and the 6ft-tall sphere Mappa Mundi, which is the largest rotating globe of its era.

Mappa Mundi

- Climb up ~416 steps and marvel at the beauty of Florence a full 360 degrees.

Stairs to the top Tower and Embattlements

One of the views from the top

Recommended length of stay: >1 hour

UFFIZI GALLERY/PIAZZALE degli UFFIZI

Piazzale degli Uffizi

Uffizi Gallery served as judiciary offices for the magistrates, the seats of Florentine Guilds, hence the name Uffizi (Italian for offices). It is now one of the most frequented museums in the world housing a grandiose collection of art works by the Medici family. It is a must stop for serious art lovers. But expect long queues and waiting times.

Entrance to Piazzale degli Uffizi

Recommended length of stay: >1 hour

PALAZZO PITTI AND BOBOLI GARDENS

Facade of Palazzo Pitti

Originally built for the Pitti family, this palace was sold to the Medicis and became the primary residence of the grand ducal family. Behind the palace lie the famous Boboli Gardens.

The compound now houses the Palatine Gallery, the Silver Museum and the Gallery of Modern Art inside the palace, and the Porcelain Museum and Costume Gallery on separate buildings outside.

Recommended length of stay: ~2 hours

VINTAGE & THRIFT SHOPS

Explore the different dwindling and tiny streets of Florence to find hidden gems tucked inside shops, such as the Pitti Vintage and Ceri Vintage near Palazzo Pitti, Elio Ferraro, and my personal favourite, Boutique Nadine near Ponte Vecchio.

Vintage shopping can be fun and exciting, and can be jaw-dropping in terms of prices. Vintage pieces are 35 years or older, while thrift shops may feature clothing or accessories with missing bits & pieces. But each shop has their own characteristics, and more often than not, the owners hand pick the pieces to fit such personality, making this a fun and kind of a 'discovery' experience.

There are 16 'unusual' places to visit in Florence, which include Boutique Nadine.  Read more about them at Unusual Florence.

I due FRATELLINI

I due Fratellini sandwiches

On the go but hungry? Grab great tasting classic sandwiches served with a glass (or two) of good wine from the oldest sandwich stall in Florence, I due Fratellini. The fresh ingredients put in the sandwich are classic, ranging from mozzarella, ham, artichokes, grilled eggplant, truffle cream and many more. A single sandwich is sure to fill your tummy.

GROM GELATO

Grom gelato

Grom almost always has a long queue outside because of its premium quality gelato - which are 100% natural and made without any added flavouring, colouring, preservatives or chemical additives of any kind. The serving is generous and there is a wide variety of flavours that is sure to satisfy your gelato fix for an affordable price. This is a must try for gelato and or food lovers!

Typical Florentine street

We then headed to grab our stuff from the hotel, had a quick prayer stop at Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and went to the train station to catch our train back to Rome and head back to the airport.

I think that Florence is a very walkable city, and it's a beautiful place to have a laid back itinerary, especially if you have a couple more days to spend. If we had more time, we would have went to see the real statue of David in Galleria dell'Accademia, explored the Santa Croce and Palazzi Pitti/Boboli Gardens.

 Expenses:
- Fratellini Lunch: 4 euros
- Palazzo Vecchio ticket: 12 euros
- Scarf: 10 euros
- Grom gelato: 2.60 euros

Total: 28.60 euros

Warning: If you're taking the Trenitalia airport express train from Roma Termini, be sure to validate your tickets in one of the very much concealed machines along the platform before boarding the train. Otherwise, you will be charged on board by the ticket inspector.

Central Market and The Palace

After a short trip from the Killing Fields, we then headed to the Central Market of Phnom Penh. This is the central hub for shopping really good quality and cheap souvenir items, such as different items made up of the Cambodian silk, keychains, Cambodian style shorts/pants, magnets, etc. It is basically a large oval building which is divided into different sections that converge towards the center where pieces of jewelry and ornaments are on sale. They have sections for clothes, wood crafts, gadgets, bags and similar goods, etc. They also have an area for the wet and dry markets, which are adjacent to the food stalls and the sections where class A imitations of branded items are on sale.

Central Market

We had our lunch here at the food stalls where we spent around 4 USD for a hearty and scrumptious lunch consisting of grilled spicy squid, Pad Thai, and cucumber salad. It was a good lunch, and if you're not the picky and posh traveler, the market is a great place for exploring local dishes.

And then we bought some simple sweets afterwards, which were priced at 4 USD per pack.

Caramelized donuts

We then headed towards the front of the Royal Palace. As we were already running out of time, we were only able to capture photos outside the gates.

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace Gates

We then headed back to Mad Monkey as we had our van transfer to Vietnam booked for the afternoon. Read about our experience in crossing the boarder between Cambodia and Vietnam here.

Waiting for the van transfer

A Killing Spree

Our first day on Singapore was actually quite exhausting. It was actually a killing spree in so much more ways than one. First and foremost, the meet up time at the airport hours before our touch down at Changi International Airport was quite a killer. We were up and running by 3 o'clock in the morning. I really hate waking up so early, so you could just imagine how difficult it was for me to do so. And this is coming from someone who's not a morning person, really. And since I finished packing so late the night before, I was late by around 15 minutes because of the long lines at the NAIA gates.

Team White OTs at Changi International Airport

So anyway, we arrived at Changi Budget Terminal around lunch time. I was quite disappointed with the budget terminal. But when I got to ride the airport's bus to the main airport, I changed my mind. The airport was nothing but ordinary. It was a killer. Just how it is connected to the city through an LRT amazes me. The airport even had tactile strips (those markers on the floor), although I'm not sure if they cater to the blind or the deaf, or both. At the entrance to the station, there were machines where you can get to load credits to an EZ Link Card used for transportation, kind of like the LRT/MRT cards here in Pinas but way cooler since you get to use it for bus rides or paying purchases too.

We first dropped off our luggage at the V Hotel and then ate lunch at Bugis Junction where I had my first taste of authentic SG chicken rice. And boy, it was the bomb! It was such a simple meal but with so much taste that I actually wanted to order another round. But since we were on a tight schedule, I had to stop myself.

Authentic SG Chicken Rice

We headed towards some of the shops and then went back to our hotel to meet up with our professor. Our first day was dedicated to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital as I mentioned on my post, OT Ala Singapura, which is a different story, so you would just have to read that post.

LRT Stations

After half a day of touring at the hospital, we went to Ion Orchard to have our first blood of shopping spree at SG. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect from SG since I'm really not the kind of person who's very into knowing the different places of the world. However, I do love learning culture as I travel.

Tori Q

We first bought snacks at Tory Q. I bought 2 sticks of chicken skin for 2 SGD. It was actually quite tasty but since it's kind of bitin, you're gonna want to buy more sticks.

Then we went to go 'shopping'. But there were just too many shops at Ion Orchard that my feet were practically begging me to kill them. Really, though, all you can actually do there is go window-shop or buy things (if you do have money). But, hey, since I'm not really a shopaholic and also for the fact that I didn't go to SG to do just that, me and my buddy, Gia, just practically walked around and tried to search for good finds --- which failed, though.

Team OT

Ion Orchard

When we all got tired of doing just that, we met up and took shots in front of the mall. 

Quick OOTD in front of the mall

Then walked towards H&M, which was just around 2 blocks away. While we were walking, we saw this ice cream cart, and Gia said that we all had to try that kind of ice cream since it's actually one of the must-try's of SG. So we each bought, I think, a 5-dollar worth of ice cream. And mind you, they're really delicious and big that you'll actually get full. My ice cream was mint flavored with chocolate chips.

Eating SG Ice Cream Sandwich

It was really just a short walk to H&M, which was actually a 3 floors! The place was jam-packed, especially since it was having a sale. After 15 minutes of window-shopping, I finished touring the place and just spent the whole hour dedicated to just sitting on one of the chairs and watching people. There were lots of Filipino shoppers, and it never fails to make me smile whenever I hear them converse in Filipino. It makes me think that we're conquering the world, one shopping capital at a time.

Dinner at Makansutra

Anyhoo, after an hour of rummaging through clothes, we went to Esplanade to eat at a place called Makansutra, which was actually a small square of shops by the bay where you could eat, drink, and have fun while being spoiled by the beautiful view of Marina Bay Sands, SG Skyline, and the Merlion statue.

I already forgot what we ordered, but it was actually a very hearty and satisfyingly large meal that we were all busog-to-the-bones after eating.

So here's a shot of what we ordered:

Too Tired to Function except when going to eat

Makansutra Dinner

And the aftermath:

What food?

Mind you though, water is actually a gold mine of SG --- so expensive! Then of course, we went to take in the view of the Bay before we got to go and look for our way home.

Marina Bay Sands as the background! woot woot

SG Skyline

It was a really nice spot from which you could appreciate such a beautiful landscape a full 360 degrees. It kind of made me think of my own country and realize how different it is from SG, which makes me sad and happy at the same time.

When the night got too cold, we decided to head back to the V hotel via a bus in front of Makansutra. We were in a hurry since we all have to be home by 12 midnight or else DMs (demerits) according to our professor. So when we got to V hotel on time, we had to take shots of our proof that all 7 Cinderellas made it home before curfew. 

Right before the clock strikes twelve! - V Hotel

It was a wonderful killer day --- a complete package of killed feet, killer walks, killer views, killed wallets, killed appetites, but definitely not killed fun.

Inside the Fancy Elevator (LOL)

Til SG day 2!

- Keso