We made our way towards the Ponte Vecchio. We realized that we had when we visited the bridge yesterday, we had not looked at it from the sides.
Different views of the Ponte Vecchio.
We wandered around the streets and shops for awhile. Brandon and I were not feeling all that interested in visiting the Uffizi later in the day. We were both feeling overwhelmed with art and were just plain tired. We decided to split up. Katrina would visit the Uffizi. Brandon and I would go back to the room to chill and relax. Katrina would text us when she was finished and we would meet up again.
Brandon and I walked back the room. I took a short nap. We both watched TV and just hung out. We did venture out at lunch time. We walked around the corner to a Cinese restaurant and ordered some take out.
Katrina had lunch on her own and then visited the Uffizi. Florentine artists rediscovered the natural world during the Renaissance. Up to this time, art was symbolic and mostly referred to biblical events. Realism didn't matter. Renaissance artists saw the beauty of nature and the human body. The Uffizi Gallery has the greatest overall collection of Italian paintings anywhere. Of course, no pictures can be taken.
Katrina texted us when she was finished. At this point even she was feeling a little weary from all the art and museums we have been visiting. We decided to meet at the Duomo piazza for gelato.
The Polizia near the Duomo.
The sun was slowly going down. Our time change happened this past weekend, one week ahead of the US, so it was getting dark early. We decided to take a leisurely stroll across the Ponte Vecchio to see the Pitti Palace.
More shots of the Ponte Vecchio.
The plain Pitti Palace facade is like all the other palace exteriors in Florence, they are all plain to 'hide the wealth'. The Pitti family were rivals of the Medici's. They had the palace built until they ran out of money. The Medicis bought it, expanded it and moved in. It is now home of several galleries and tours of the royal apartments.
Pitti Palace
Most of the palaces in Florence are built in the Rustica style. The stones on the first 2 or 3 stories look like the photos above. The upper stories are usually brick. Very plain in style.
The piazza in front of the palace is large and paved with stones. Katrina and I sat and enjoyed the atmosphere while Brandon ran and ran and ran himself tired. Once the sun was all the way down, it started getting pretty cold, so we headed back into town.
The loves of my life.
Brandon wanted to run a bit more. We just wanted to relax, so we found a quiet cafe on a back street and enjoyed an apperitivo - glasses of wine and bruschetta. Brandon ran and ran all around the small piazza.
Brandon running himself tired.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the neighborhood Cinese restaurant, the same one Brandon and I ate at for lunch. We ordered take out and ate in the room. We've been taking it a bit easier on this trip than we usually do. We usually try to see all we can and make the most of every moment of the day. This trip has had breaks in the room, early nights at the hotel and we are usually in bed by 9pm.
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