We first walked down through the city and over the Ponte Vecchio which is an old bridge that reminded me of the Rialto bridge. While you are on it it diesn't even seem like you are on a bridge. It just looks like a city street because the shops on both sides of the bridge are 2 stories tall and line each side. There is a break in the shops in the middle of the bridge where you can see out over the river and the view of the city. Most of the shops on the bridge were jewelry, and,of course, leather. After the bridge we walked probably almost 2 miles till we reached the bottom of hill. We wanted to go to the top, which was where Piazzale Michelangelo was. Basically we trudged up hills and then up stairs (sort-of-stairs) till we reached the top. The view at the top was amazing! You can see a beautiful view of all of Florence. There is a big Copper version of the statue of David done by Michelangelo. After hiking up the steep stairs we laughed because we found another way down the hill that would have been a bit easier of a walk up...oh well.
Our next destination, The Piazza Pitti and the Giardino di Boboli, was probably another mile from there. The Piazza Pitti is a huge Palace turned museum. No pictures were allowed inside, but I'm sure there are pictures online. I have loosely referred to myself as an artist at times because of all of the artistic things that I do regularly. After seeing what I saw today I am not sure I will ever refer to myself as an artist again. The amazing talent of the artists that painted the fresco walls and ceilings in that building are more amazing than I could ever dream of being. The realism of what they did was humbling and inspiring. I don't want to sound too sappy here, but really, it was such a humbling experience to see in person such amazing art. What is even more amazing is to see that they were painted in the 1800's! I think that is one of the things that has hit me the most is just how OLD everything here is. The history, the detail, the talent and the inspiration of the artists, architects, and skilled laborers that created these buildings is such a wonder to me! Seeing the european style of buildings, and life has changed my understanding of art, and texture, and furniture. It has changed how I see things, and it's only just begun. I hope that I can bring something of all of this back with me, and keep it a part of who I am. I'm not sure exactly how, but hopefully I can be better at the things I do because of the things I am seeing and experiencing.
We sat on a big hill, a plaza of sorts in front of the Pitti Palace to eat our lunch. This morning we picked up some freshly made pizza type things at the grocery store and although they weren't warm anymore, they were yummy! We talked on the way home as we passed all of the restaurants , and cafe's and ice cream shops that we might have to break down and eat one meal that was prepared fresh for us, but we will see. We paid under 10 euros for our breakfast and lunch along with a small snack at the grocery store this morning. That is only about 2,50 each for each meal-not bad! If we can keep eating like that maybe we can splurge on a treat here or there! This penny pinching is torture sometimes, but we know it's how we gotta roll!
After the Pitti Palace we toured the Gardens of Boboli. It was again a LOT of walking, but it was really really beautiful! So many statues and beautiful scenery. I'm not sure why, but we were sad to see that much of the gardens were unkempt and overgrown with weeds and such. The ponds were stale and mossy, but the big fish seemed to love it.
Tomorrow we will be heading in a different direction in Florence, a little less hiking involved in our route tomorrow, so hopefully we won't be as worn out! I have a LOT more pictures but the battery was dead, and our internet is tempremental, to I'm gonna post while I can! I'll try to do more pictures later!
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