Firenze: Day 2, part 5

My supermarket feast--focaccia, provolone, prosciutto, strawberries, yogurt and tiramisu. They had tiny little wild strawberries in the store, too. And that tiramisu was great but very heavy on the rum--even more than Buca di Beppo!

Another trip across the Arno

By a fountain in the Palazzo Pitti courtyard

Via dei Cipressi (Cypress road)

Boboli gardens, looking down towards the back of Palazzo Pitti

Me with the Florence skyline view from Boboli gardens



My cheap Italian little black dress


A murky fountain/pond in Boboli gardens

In front of the Palazzo Pitti


Boboli gardens

Palazzo Pitti (such a plain front, but so much more ornate inside)

Giollerie (jewelry shops) on the Ponte Vecchio

View from the Ponte Vecchio


Me on the Ponte Vecchio


Street full of tourists, leading up to the Ponte Vecchio

Market--leather bags/shoes/jackets/etc. are the main touristy thing here




Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace)

Piazza della Signoria

Statues in the Loggia dei Lunzi



Me in the Loggia dei Lunzi

Cellini's "Perseus"


"Under a Loggia"


Cellini's "Perseus" surrounded by tourists


Loggia dei Lunzi on the Piazza della Signoria


Neptune's Fountain in the Piazza della Signoria

After Santa Croce, I wandered down to Piazza della Signoria. Had more gelato, stopped and bought a dress (because it was so hot out--in the 90's), and wandered down to the Ponte Vecchio. On the other side of the Arno, there's Palazzo Pitti, which is where the Medici family moved after living in the Palazzo Vecchio. They had Vasari design a secret, private passageway linking the 2 palaces--it goes over the river via the Ponte Vecchio and along the Uffizi gallery. Apparently it's still very hard to get a tour of the passageway--you have to 'know somebody' to get on the list and it costs over 100 Euros. The Palazzo Pitti was lovely--there are 6 museums inside and the tickets were really odd. For 12 Euros, you get into some of the museums, and for 10 Euros you get into the gardens and the other museums (the less popular ones, I suppose). I opted for the garden one, and it included the Treasures museum that houses Medici jewelery and art, so that was cool. I used Palazzo Pitti's bathrooms to change into my new dress, too :) On the way back to my hotel, I went to the supermarket and picked up some food for dinner--I always get a kick out of seeing normal, everyday things like grocery stores in foreign countries. Even here, even after 10 months in Leeds, I still love grocery shopping! It was so funny to see the things we think of as fancy Italian imports being sold as everyday common things--prosciutto, olives, focaccia, etc. Their pasta row was incredible, too!