Day 51 Great planning fails!

Breaking fast in the hostel dining room with the roar of a hundred or so kids on their school trip really motivated me to get out quick! 

I'm heading for the farthest point in today's wandering and for once taking a bus.... Why not! 

It really worked out well for me the cashless payment system in the bus had failed meaning I got my trip for free!!! 

straight up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo a broad viewpoint as you can see showing the delights of Florence! With hazy distant snow capped mountains looking out of place on a day as hot as today nearly 20°C!!

You can smell spring in the air here! Descending through what I'm sure will be a beautiful rose garden I met Robert Burns an old Canadian with Scottish roots from America... we stood around complaining about society in true old man style! 

Eventually having not put the world to rights at all but satisfied with our dissection of the times I head down hill again, there's the old town wall just below with the Porta San miniato entrance into Florence

nice it's still in regular use.... Arrow slits above perhaps? It's quite a formidable wall! 

through and on to the banks of the Arne again and my route is towards the ponte Vechio, literally 'Old Bridge'

and under the rendered facade and rows of modern jewellery shops lies a medieval bridge, the oldest in Florence.

picture taken from the open mid point of the bridge... With a nice view westward ...... 

back into the old town and following my nose as usual find a rather beautiful statue a man and woman as the trunks of the world tree! Probably my favourite statue so far!

taking liberties with my viewing angle I rather enjoyed a play...

and already it's lunch! so I grab a nice snack and a nasty bottle of cheap wine.... That went straight in the bin...

enjoying the heat beating down on Piazza Della Signoria before heading towards the museum in front of me in the picture..... Which was closed!  every museum I tried today was closed! 

But with weather like a good English summer I couldn't care less, more than happy to plod alon here and there stopping once to plan my next few days in the sun another to pick up some light walking trousers keeping my usual trousers clean and dry enough to wear is  difficult! .... With that problem solved I head through the plaza Santa Maria Novella with it's twin obelisks resting on bronze tortoises.....🤔

Beyond the plaza a ragtag street blues band were playing King of the jungle funny to hear in Italian! 

I stood and listened chatting to a lady called Florentine both using Google to adequate effect... Nice lady I could have talked for hours but she was away to meet her fella so I'm off back to the hostel, I need to pack and grab some food. 

What else to do on my last night in Florence? Yep an Irish pub!!