We got up and broke camp in the sun this morning – it was over 20 degrees by 8am so our tent and fly dried out well for a change. On the hunt for parking which we found (gratis!) at Piazza Michelangelo. Enjoyed the fantastic view of the city from there before walking down the hill to town itself. Past San Niccolo tower (closed until evening – but that didn’t stop us having a good look) and along Fiume Arno to cross Ponte Vecchio as we aimed for the Duomo itself.
Wandering through back streets we found a funky shoe store with sales, drooled on the windows a little before carrying on to our destination. Coming out into the Piazza del Duomo was amazing. The sun was shining on Santa Maria del Fiore and Bray felt like he was actually inside Assassian’s Creed (the PS3 game). Much excitement!
We waited in line to enter (gratis!) and ooh-ed and aah-ed for a fairly long while inside, before descending to the archaeological site of Santa Reparata underneath the Duomo itself. Contemplated the tour and pass options before leaving in search of wi-fi, power to charge our things and beverages. Roni enquired at the info site where they helpfully directed us to a cafe on Conti with wi-fi. Found with ease so we located campsites, had a coffee and consumed a tasty bread roll – though we couldn’t charge laptop and batteries.
Had a look at Basilica di San Lorenzo and passed the Cappelle and Palazzo Medici. Prices were a bit up there and we still had a fair bit of driving ahead so we looked at the outside before heading back in the direction of the car. En route we stumbled upon Dante’s house (now a Dante museum) and his church (Chiesa di Santa Margherita dei Cerchi) down a side alley. Headed to the supermarket next to stock up and paused at the sandal sale we had spotted earlier. Nothing that really fit what we were after so made it back to the vehicle without any more expenditure. Had a bite to eat at Piazzale Michelangelo before jumping in the car and heading toward Rome.
A fair bit more driving, the nav took us through back roads that are used for rally driving (there were all the hay bales cushioning around trees and signs still out). It was dark by this stage and Bray came into his own as a co-driver (in the style of Nicky Grist)= uber helpful! Made it to our chosen campsite (Parco del Largo) north of Rome in the pitch dark and tent up, dinner down and bed. No idea what the place looked like but they gave us a pitch next to the water so we were excited about what we would see in the morning.
