fh_trips | Florence, [Saturday, October 19, 2013]

The five-star Hotel Savoy (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/) offers luxury and style in the heart of Florence. Located on the Piazza Repubblica, close to Florence's renowned Duomo, the hotel is just a short walk from the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio. It's also just steps away from the main Florence fashion houses if you're all art-ed out. Which would be a shame because you can't get a block in Florence without seeing some naked guy in a fountain. And most of the time they're even made of marble!

Edited 2013-10-19 12:52 (UTC)

Everyone is staying in deluxe double or twin rooms (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/assets/_shared/all/images/room_images/7_DLD.JPG) ~~depending on what's funnier~~ and offer a view over the Piazza della Repubblica as well as of the Duomo. The Italian marble bathrooms, with mosaic decorations, also feature a separate shower, and the chaperones' rooms have a balcony out to enjoy the view of the city more thoroughly. Each room comes with satellite television, phones, internet connections and a minibar. Mmm, 10 Euro Toblerone.

[OOC: Your room assignments are over here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq994Jtyb7HrdFNUSnZ2TWlaOHZKdGN3S0t5LW9FZHc#gid=1), dirty stuff goes to private journals!]

Edited 2013-10-19 12:56 (UTC)

Eating at the hotel restaurant (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/pictures/lincontrobar1.jpghttp://www.hotelsavoy.it/pictures/lincontrobar1.jpg) in one of the great food capitals of the world might seem like a cop-out, but with a menu (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/dining/lincontro/menu/) like L'Icontro's, we'll allow for an exception.

Edited 2013-10-19 12:58 (UTC)

It's a bar (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/pictures/lincontrobar3.jpg) that pours an authentic enough martini to end up on the official list of 'Bund Bars' throughout the world. In other news, there's a list of bars that are cool enough for a fictional character to drink in. Hee.

Edited 2013-10-19 13:02 (UTC)

Atton had done a great job of making sure he didn't remember most of this trip, which was all he'd really wanted in the first place. Right now he was hunched over the bar with a straight whiskey and a look in his eye that made sure the staff made a wide berth.

Some days, he just didn't have the spoons.

If you haven't figured out by now you have to walk pretty much everywhere in Italy, there's nothing we can do to help you on that front, but if you want to work out your arms and abs while getting an amazing view of the Duomo (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/pictures/savoy_health2.jpg), the Savoy's got you covered. They also have a steam room, perfect from unkinking those muscles worn out from seeing all there is to see!

You can stop by the museums you missed yesterday (there are still plenty to choose from) or you could take a leisure cruise down the Arno River with its secret and the beautiful palazzos you can admire from the water. The boat is conducted by the 'renaioli', true tradition holders that will guide with their long-reaching sweeping-oars.

If you come to Florence and don't spend time at the Uffizi (http://www.uffizi.com/), you have missed out on one of the great art museums in the world. Originally just a display for all of the art the Medici family had acquired, it was one of the first museums in the world: open to visitors by request since the 16th Century and to the public at large since 1765. You can see works by Giotto and three of the four not-turtles: da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

The line to get into the museum was kind of insane on a Saturday, but Anakin had been told that he didn't have an excuse for not going to this museum, so here he was, looking at art.

He was getting a little tired of frescoes.

Cecil wasn't sure how much of this would be municipally approved, but it was supposed to be really interesting. He'd left Foucault in the room; the hotel staff had acted a bit odd when he'd asked if birds were allowed in the galleries.

The art was pretty, and he recognized one or two of the names, he thought.

Were you sure none of this was done by turtles? Because that would be extra impressive!

It's practically across the street from the hotel, so go see it! The Duomo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral) (or the Basilica of St. Mary of the Flower, though no one calls it that) was begun in 1296 and finished in 1436 because cathedrals are wicked expensive to construct. It's one of the largest churches in the world, and the brick dome is the largest in the world. Until modern-era constructive materials were invented, it was the largest dome, period, in the world. You can climb to the top of the cathedral and get an amazing view of Florence and the surrounding countryside. While you're in the area, you can also stop by the Baptistery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral) and see the amazing bronze doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Giotto's Campanile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanile_di_Giotto), a bell tower, that while beautiful and impressive, is not as tall as the one in Siena. So suck it, Florence.

The cathedral was really, really big and the art was...arty and stuff?

Cade didn't know what he was looking at, so he climbed to the top of the dome and horrified the guide by asking if he could rappel down the side of the building to get back down.

Kitty had spent enough time looking at this place from the gym- which was an awesome thing to be able to say, by the way- that today she decided to actually see it up close.

Points to you, Roman Catholics, this was pretty amazing.

Come to see the marble statue of a naked guy (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187895-d195557-Reviews-Statue_of_David-Florence_Tuscany.html) that has been famous for centuries, stay for the other artwork, including some being done by Italian student artists right now. If they don't seem as good as the David, well...the David.

The view is spectacular and you don't have to walk for a while! What's not to love?

Yeah, like Gert wasn't going to make a point of visiting the most important library in Italy? Come on.

She took a tour, of course, and afterwards she challenged herself to find an English copy of The Prince without asking for help. Pleased with what she'd accomplished today, Gert found a comfortable spot in the reading room and settled in for a day of reading Florentine political philosophy.

Well. According to the hotel concierge, apparently in between all these boring art museums and nude statues, there was an astrophysical observatory located where Galileo used to hang out.

Yeah, Topher was so there.

He was making a lot of use of the feature on his translation app that allowed him to translate the text in photos he took with his phone, and his phone was probably going to die before he could Google Maps his way back to the hotel. Should have sprung for an English-language audio tour, Topher.

Edited 2013-10-19 13:50 (UTC)

There were probably still more churches that Alec could go see today, but instead he was opting for a day at a park instead -- specifically the Boboli Gardens, where he was taking a nice, long run.

The view was admittedly exquisite, but meandering around the tourists taking pictures of the sculptures made it lose its charm almost immediately.

You can still find plenty of shopping opportunities in town, but the hotel is also offering an English-speaking private driver for a half-day tour to the three main famous outlets around - Prada, the Mall and Dolce & Gabbana - which offer designer clothes at a discount. Interested, Isabelle?

Alex had done the touristy type of things yesterday, so today was devoted to shopping. Or at least attempting to. This wasn't usually her thing, but she still hadn't gotten anything for Nikita. She needed to fix that.

It's hard to go wrong with food in Florence. There are little corner shops that sell water and pizza, and gelaterias, it seems, are on all the other corners. The city’s best gelateria, or ice-cream parlor, is Vivoli! Remember that a a cup, or tub (coppa), is better value than a cone (cono), and that you can ask for more than one flavor on your cone or in your cup! The hotel has recommendations (http://www.hotelsavoy.it/florence-concierge/dining/) for pricier options--Michelin starred restaurants, places that have been open since the 1800s, but you can't really get a bad meal even if you go for one that comes price fixed with wine, pasta and dessert for 20 Euros.

Massive apologies, Europe folks. My internet went down without my permission.

RUDE, INTERNET. RUDE.

Florence, [Saturday, October 19, 2013]

The Hotel [Daytime, 10/19]

Rooms [Daytime, 10/19]

Dining [Daytime, 10/19]

L'Incontro [Daytime, 10/19]

L'Incontro Bar [Daytime, 10/19]

Re: L'Incontro Bar [Daytime, 10/19]

Fitness [Daytime, 10/19]

Florence! [Daytime 10/19]

Sightseeing [Daytime 10/19]

The Uffizi [Daytime 10/19]

Re: The Uffizi [Daytime 10/19]

Re: The Uffizi [Daytime 10/19]

The Duomo [Daytime 10/19]

Re: The Duomo [Daytime 10/19]

Re: The Duomo [Daytime 10/19]

Accademia Museum [Daytime 10/19]

Cruise down the Arno [Daytime 10/19]

Mod Your Own Adventure! [Daytime 10/19]

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana

Osservatorio di Arcetri

Giardini di Boboli

Shopping [Daytime 10/19]

Re: Shopping [Daytime 10/19]

Eating! [Daytime 10/19]

OOC

Re: OOC