Back to Firenze – Uffizi, Santa Croce, Boboli Gardens and more

Family Sabbatical TravelItaly FriendsLucy FriendsJan We went back to Firenze. Our first stop was the Uffizi, so we were glad for the sign ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050001 that pointed the way for us. When we got there, there was a wide assortment of statues outside, some real ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050003 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050008 and some imaginary. ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050002 Some were even preparing for the job or being on break ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050005 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050006 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050007 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050009 and this lucky couple was getting married. ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050004 We even saw these people in the museum who were pretending to be mobile statues ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050012

Once we got into the museum, we still had to wait ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050010 but were glad to be ahead of these people ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050011 Once inside, we made the rounds fairly quickly ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050013 including the shell ceiling room ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050014 the phone booth ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050015 outside the men's room and the imitation of the statue ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050018 and the reproductions of the boar ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050017 from the straw market and Lao-coon ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050016 from the Vatican museum. After the museum, we went to the statue of Perseus ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050019 where we met Jan ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050020 and Jan ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050021 but not Jan and David ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050022

On the way to lunch, we saw this ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050023 electric 3 wheel car. When we got to lunch at this restaurant ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050035 our table was ready ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050024 so we could sit down one by one Jan ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050025 Jan ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050027 Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050028 Michael ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050026 Caroline ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050029 Jane ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050030 Lucy ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050031 Sarah ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050032 Benjamin ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050033 and David ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050034 The waitress ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050036 Brought some good pasta ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050038 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050039 which people really enjoyed eating ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050037 especially Lucy ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050040 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050041 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050042 Sarah had her eyes closed ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050043 until she say all the coke ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050044 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050045 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050046 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050049 which blew up Jane's expression ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050047 and made Lucy's eye ball pictures ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050048 Eventually their creativity returned ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050050 at about the time the meat came ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050051 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050052 After one last picture ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050053 we headed off towards Santa Croce with one small photo op on the way ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050054

The church is very impressive ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050055 and it was nice to have Dante ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050056 welcome us as Jane and Lucy ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050057 made their way to the holy water.

This church is home to many famous dead Italians ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050064 and a warning about living ones ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050058 that had me shaking the camera all around. The dead ones include Dante ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050059 Machiavelli ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050060 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050061 Rossini ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050062 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050063 Marconi ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050067 da Vinci ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050068 Fermi ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050069 Galileo ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050070 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050071 There's also a room that you can light for 200 lire per minute ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050065 and a few spurious Gutenberg bibles ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050066 We took one last group photo ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050072 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050073 said good byes to Dante ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050074 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050075 and headed for our next stop, gelato ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050077 by Vivoli ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050076 The gelato was as good as it looked ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050078 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050079

Our next stop were the gardens of ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050082 with their spectacular view ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050080 of Firenze. As we walked along, ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050081 we found a place for Benjamin's to pose ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050085 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050086 and a make your own statue pedestal ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050083 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050084 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050088 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050089 until the guard insisted that we start taking less dangerous pictures ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050087

Once in the gardens, we discovered a wonderful statue/sculpture ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050090 and a beautiful fountain ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050092 (notice Jane and Lucy in the background) but it was hard to find our way so we were often consulting maps ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050091 and guide books. We found a sign to the coffee shop ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050094 which had unfortunately closed. We took ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050095 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050096 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050097 and contributed ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050093 to some group pictures including this counting one ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.05.00Firenze-Day2//P7050098