| Erin's Florence Journal #5 4-14-02 Sunday was a sunny day, for once! We also had changed rooms (it's a little cheaper if you stay with more people), but luckily still ended up in the same room as one another, right across the hall from our old room. Shayne ended up downstairs in a room of 9 other girls, while we had the relative luxury of only 6 beds! After breakfast, we went to see the Gallery Accademia, but couldn't stand the thought of missing the rare sunshine, so we took a bunch of pictures as we wandered toward the Buboli Gardens attached to the Palazzo Pitti. As we meandered, we found Shayne again and agreed to go together. We had a lovely time looking through the almost-blooming gardens and seeing vistas of the city. By the time we were done, it was clouding over and getting ready to rain. We had also planned to go with Shayne up to the mountainside town of Fiesole to view Florence from above, so we met up again after a short break to change and dry off to catch the bus up the mountain. Once there, we got directions to go up a steep hill for the view, and were able to watch the sheets of rain as they bore down on us! Sure enough, 3 minutes later it was absolutely pouring, and it stayed wet for almost 20 minutes. After it let up, we walked down a back hill and happened upon a cemetary which was so lovingly kept up that each gravestone had a picture of its occupant, and fresh flowers adorned almost every grave and plaque. It made me rethink my ideas on having a plaque or memorial to our dead, as it can be a more formal and special way to remember a loved one. We found some wonderful views off the backside of the mountain over a landscape seemingly out of a painting. Gorgeous!!! We had dinner at a local trattoria before catching the bus back to town, and settled in to watch movies at the hostel and settle in to sleep. |
| This very unusual grotto lies at the base of the Boboli Gardens at the Palazzo Pitti It's decorated with shells and made to look like an enormous sand castle! |
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