Day 19 - Alan is transformed in Florence

The plan is to walk over to the Boboli Gardens where I am told you can see a view of the whole city, but when we arrive – with several shopping diversions along the way we are confused by the ticketing system and buy tickets to see the Gardens and the Pitti Palazzo. So glad we have as the palace and the artworks in it are magnificent.

The palace is enormous with several floors and rooms of grand proportions – each room a work of art in itself – rich baroque colours, lush furnishings and floor coverings and each room filled entirely of artworks, including the bedrooms. We have seen nothing to compare with it this trip. There is a Caravaggio exhibition in one part of the palace and we easily spend a few hours in the palace before even venturing into the gardens.


The Gardens are wonderful – on the grand scale – with the early part being a very classical style garden with mazes, fountains etc. whereas the top area (with the magnificent view of the Florence) being the setting for many modern sculptures and pieces by Bardini.


It is mid afternoon when we finally leave the palace and make our way back over the Ponti Vecchio bridge for lunch and some shopping. What fun - we buy beautiful leather handbags, scarves, books, posters, gloves. I can see we will shortly have to have another visit to the post office.

Alan has his haircut at a barber shop near the Ponti Bridge. The barber takes quite some time with his 'transformation'. The cut is very Italianate – with feathering at the back, a bit of boof on top, sharp sides, oiling etc. He looks fantastic. I have always thought Alan is very Roman in profile and now especially so.


Latin lover and I have dinner in a restaurant overlooking a plaza and musical carousel. I try the chianti with my meal of pork and vegetables. Alan has mushroom pasta. We eat gelatis as we wander slowly back to Hotel Hermes savouring the wonderful bustling street scenes of Florentine life.