First off, I love the Pitti Palace name… from now on I won’t be having pity parties… but instead enjoying time in my Pitti Palace…
Okay… I digressed… back on track… We left for the Uffizi Gallery… filled with wonderful works of art by but not only, Michelangelo, Galileo, Donatello, Machiavelli, well, the list goes on. I have never really studied art, but listening to our guide explain the pictures, the process, the time period…I really enjoyed it… so I was shocked… not usually my cup of tea. The artwork was all from the Medici Family… who pretty much were the wealthiest and most in control in old, old Florence. They had amassed much money and buildings (Pitti Palace built in 1460 and they bought shortly thereafter)… They were pretty much BMOC’s, know what I mean. Well, they didn’t really do ‘good works’ like giving to the poor, etc… so they had a brilliant thought that if they bought up artwork and kept in safekeeping, that would make them look good in the eyes of the Pope, etc, and therefore, made them good people…. Weird world back then! I cannot say how wonderful the whole Uffizi (which means office, and there’s a story behind that too), Gallery was… and how large… my gosh… Of course, no pics allowed in there..and we had to go through security, etc.After there we headed out for a nice stroll to Santa Croce Church…and the burial monument tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini… They all died 1400ish… Plus, a stone carving by Donatello, the largest pipe organ in Italy. It was pretty cool, but I must say… I didn’t feel at all ‘spiritual’, but was overwhelmed with the history of it all.
Dropped in for lunch a Baldovino, right there in the Piazzo… yum, yum… fortified then to make the trek to the Palace and the Gardens. We walked and walked around the gardens…. Up, up, up and we were able to see all of Florence from the top, well, pieces sorta. Those folks, man oh man, they know how to do things BIG. These Gardens, were hedges, some lawn, fountains, statues, etc… don’t picture something like the “Butchart Gardens” in Victoria… much more sedate, plain, and peaceful in it’s own way.
We eventually made our way back to the hotel. We saw cop cars, and gathering of folks and lots of noise outside… As we got closer, it was a Lamborghini rally of some type… ALL PRETTY NEWISH… 48 of them parked and parking in our piazza outside the hotel. The basic price is a new one is 150,000Euros… that’s striped… they go up to $500,000Euros… mind you I said Euros… Lots of money sitting in the piazza for sure. Just about 30 minutes ago, they all left on a rally or Grand Prix type event… Street closed again, engines making lots of noise, and they left… wonder when they’ll be back?
Tonight Dinner with some of the folks we met… should be fun! Tomorrow the train to Venice!
A couple of pretty famous tomb monuments.....
Electric car... plugged in at curbside... and, it is parked with the motorcycles and doesn't even stick out!
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