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Our first planned activity this morning was a cooking class to make our own pizzas and Gelato. But after waiting outside the cooking school for half an hour, I get a message saying the class had been cancelled. The cook had worked late at a catering job last night and couldn’t get up early enough to come in. This group class had been booked through TownsofItaly.com. At least they were quick issuing a refund.

Our timed tickets to the Accademia Gallery to see the statue of David were not until 2PM so we had some time to kill. As we headed back to the hotel, we went past the Mercato Centrale food market and decided to go in.

Three of us had come here yesterday and found the booth selling olive oil. I found the booth again and the whole group came! When the woman, Paola, recognized Laura, Laura exclaimed she loved her products so much she brought all her friends today! We discovered they also produced Balsamic Vinigrette. Paola and her son Roccardo offered us a tasting of their various aged balsamic, ranging from 5 to 60 years old, aged in small oak barrels. Everyone got a plastic spoon and she poured a drop onto the spoons. We tasted 5 year old balsamic, 12 years old, 25 years old and 60 years old. I noticed the taste got stronger with more aging, more oaken flavor. All of them had richer flavors than anything I’ve tasted at home, and they got thicker with age as well. Prices ranged from around €10 to over €60 depending on the age. I liked the No. 25 flavor the best. The bottle held 50 ml (1.7 oz) of balsamic and sold for €25.

But then we tried the various sauces. Sauces made with mushrooms, truffles, peppercinos, mustards and pesto. They were so delicious, we had to get some. Others bought homemade candies, sort of like hard and soft taffy, mixed in with pistachios or almonds. Here are photos of some of the food and drink we purchased during this trip.

We toured other booths and went upstairs to the food court area, but no one was interested in eating lunch there. So we headed to a cafe for pizza, but then I saw a little food store selling Döner Kebab, one of my favorite Turkish foods sold in Europe! I grabbed one for take away.

After making a quick stop at the hotel, we got some lunch and then headed to the Academia Gallery.

When arriving at Via Ricasoli, we hit a huge crowd, all waiting to get into the museum. There appeared to be 3 lines, 13:30, 13:45 and Nor Reservation. We got at the end of the 13:30 / 13:45 lines ( at that point merged). After waiting nearly 30 minutes with small movements in the line, we got up to the point where the lines split. By then it was the 13:45 and 14:00 lines. It moved much faster then and we soon found ourselves inside going through security. I encouraged everyone to download the free Rick Steves Europe app, as it included an audio guide of the Academia Gallery. We followed Rick’s verbal guidance and pushed up towards the Michelangelo masterpiece statue of David at the end of a long gallery hall. Rick described the history of the statue and its unique features. The crowd was not as packed as at the Mona Lisa in the Paris Louvre, but it was pretty full, with everyone trying to take pictures and selfies.

There was a side gallery of Renaissance musical instruments that we toured, but not much else of interest.

Saying goodbye to David, we headed back to the hotel, stopping at our favorite happy hour cafe, which provided free bruschetta appetizer with each round of beers and wine.

Our final Florence dinner was at the fabulous Trattoria Za Za. We didn’t how large the restaurant was, nearly the length of a whole block, until we had to find the front entrance. But the food was fabulous. I had the Prosciutto and melon, and Branzino fish, while Laura had the Carbonara pasta and seared tuna. I forgot to take pictures! I got a wonderful surprise at the end when the rest of the group had pre-decided to treat Laura and I to dinner in appreciation for my trip planning efforts. Thank you very much, I had fun doing it! We ended the evening with a wonderful walk back to the hotel, stopping for our last gelato along the way.