- Florence

We were going to go to Pistoia today, but we decided we'd moved around enough. And, we didn't sleep well last night - getting to bed (for us) late due to the noise outside didn't help. We're changing rooms today to move to the rear of the hotel - not a nice view but much quieter we believe.

We headed towards the Arno from the hotel. We took some pictures of the outside of the Orsanmichele, which is just outside the hotel.

A section of the facade of Orsanmichele	A statue in a niche
A couple of ceramic details

We walked towards Piazza Republica; I gave some change to a woman just starting to rough in a picture in pastel of a woman on the street. We stopped at our favorite cermics shop, Galleria Machiavelli (Via Por S. Maria 39r) and bought a few things; Aviva wants to redecorate the mantle over the fireplace, and Italian ceramics seem to be a key to her plan.

A pitcher and small bust we purchased at Galleria Machiavelli

We crossed the Ponte Vechio, which was originally used by butchers but, due to the smell, changed by the Medicis to jewelers. You can see our previous photos here.

The water fountain on the Ponte Vechio

A view down the Arno from the Ponte Vechio

We turned right off the Ponte Vechio and stopped at a jeweler's shop; Aviva bought a cameo ring, and we were to return at 6 PM as it needed to be resized. I looked across the street at a store selling chess sets.

We continued walking towards the Pitti Palace, turned right and ate a very nice lunch at a small trattoria that was serving a lot of the local workmen, located near Santo Spirito. After lunch we went to the Pitti Palace to go to the Boboli Gardens, which is behind the palace; entry was free (May 12 - 20).

The first grotto, Moses Grotto, is just past the entrance. The Grottos at the Gardens were designed like ancient Roman caves, as places for resting and meditating.

The main fountain along with the statue of Moses	The ceiling of the grotto
Cherubs in the fountain water

Aviva and I walked up the first level but then she chickened out and went back to the bookstore; I walked all the way up to the top, where there's a small museum of the china and dining decorations from the Medici.

Two statue runs lead you up the hill
A view up the hill	The Neptune fountain
Four turtles hold up the plynth
The cafe	The statue at the top of the hill
The housewares museum
A view behind the Boboli Gardens from the top
A cat running around the Gardens	Aviva in front of the Duomo
Aviva with a statue

I got a wonderful panorama of the city of Florence from a hill in the Gardens.

A panorama of Florence from the Boboli Gardens - note the Duomo and the tower from the Palazzo Vechio to the right.

We walked to Grotto Grande, which is the most famous one - we couldn't go inside though.

Grotto Grande

Aviva before the Grotto Grande

The ceiling

On the way out we found a statue of Morgante the dwarf riding a turtle. When I walked up to it a woman was photographing it. I told her I looked like him, and she said no, I didn't. So I told her she was right, I didn't have a turtle.

Morgante the dwarf on a turtle

We walked around for a while, then went back to the shop, Elli Peruzzi at Borgo San Iacopo, 48, to pick up Aviva's cameo ring.

Aviva's new ring

The shop where we bought the ring

I bought a chess set from the shop across the street. We walked over to the open air market by Piazza Republica and bought a few things. We walked back the way we came in the morning and found the woman finishing up her pastel street drawing - like the sand mandalas, it goes away in the evening when the streets are cleaned.

The drawing	The artist

We dropped stuff off at the hotel and had a nice dinner a couple of blocks away.