Tuesday, 10 September 2019 – Florence: Palaces, Pastries and the Jack Black of Statues

Today felt like unfinished business finally sorted.

We made our way to the Palazzo Pitti—third time lucky! Back in 2012, we only managed to drive past. In 2017, we walked by and admired it from the outside. But today, in 2019, we actually went in. And it was worth the wait. The palace itself is grand and decadent in only the way Florence knows how, and the adjoining Boboli Gardens were just as spectacular. Sculptures, fountains, sweeping views—it’s the kind of place where you feel like you're wandering through a Renaissance movie set.

One particular statue caught our attention—a man riding a turtle. Majestic? Maybe. Hilarious? Absolutely. I swear he looked like Jack Black, mid-performance. A reminder that even high art can have a sense of humour.

We took the scenic route back via the Ponte Vecchio, weaving through jewellery shops and the crowd. The buzz was briefly interrupted when we saw a pair of police officers snatch up some prints from street sellers—clearly not part of the official museum collection. The sellers themselves were long gone, leaving behind nothing but “who, me?” faces in the crowd.

In need of a more civilised pace, we made a beeline for the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a centuries-old pharmacy that now doubles as a temple to indulgence. Inside, we found the tea room, and yes—coffee and cake were involved. A hot chocolate for me (rich enough to require a spoon), and a bit of cake to round out a very Florence sort of afternoon.

We capped it all off with a relaxing massage, because wandering palaces, laughing at turtle statues, and resisting counterfeit art is hard work.

Feet tired, senses full—tonight, we sleep well.