Florence Day 2

Today we got a bit of a late start. We decided to walk from our flat down to the river and make our way to the famous Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square) which offers panoramic views of Florence. On the way, we checked out shops and crossed the river at the Ponte Vecchio.

We got a little lost and ended up at an entrance to the famous Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens). The area was set to close at 5:30pm, giving us enough time to explore the gardens and exhibits in the Palazzo Pitti. The gardens were a bit overgrown, but beautiful the closer we got to the palace. The view of Florence was the best we’d seen, with the dome of the Duomo rising above the city. We entered the palace and toured a few exhibits, including the Galleria del Costume in the Museo degli Argenti. This exhibit housed clothing from various era’s and included a section dedicated to the Native American’s of the United States. It was very interesting to see the point of view of Native American’s from a foreign country’s perspective.

We left the Palace and gardens, back the way we had come, and ventured down a steep road toward the Piazzale. Around a bend, and up another street brought us to a very large and steep flight of steps to the top of the Piazzale. Ryder and I decided to race to the top of the steps and of course he beat me, but I did sprint ahead for a second! At the top, the views were spectacular!! We spent some time admiring the view and exploring the little stalls full of tourist trinkets set along the sides of the Piazzale. In the center, we found a large bronze replica of the Michelangelo’s Statue of David sculpture accompanied by a few Florentine artists painting the cityscape. As the sun began to sink below the horizon we made our way back to the apartment for the night.