A nice breakfast setting this morning overlooking the back garden and were greeted by an 80 year old turtle which had been handed down from the Grandfather of Sandra one of our hosts.
This old fellow also has a younger playmate, if one calls 40 young!
Even at 80 the older turtle will well outlive his current owners as they have a lifespan of around 150 years.
They are treated as pets and he came (waddled slowly) to Sandra for breakfast when she called it and demolished an apricot - they particularly love tomatoes.
Turtles as pets in Tuscany are not uncommon and they are registered just like we do for dogs.
A bus to Piazzale Michelangelo gave magnificent panoramic postcard views across Florence - we arrived relatively early but even then the car park was full.
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| Replica of David at Piazzale Michelangelo |
As we came down to "sea level" we followed the fiume back towards Ponte Vecchio and made our way to Palazzo Pitti, the grand summer palace of the Medici family.
This multi storeyed building contains room after room of masterpieces accumulated by the Medici family - in one room alone we counted 46 paintings of varying sizes.
Not only were there the paintings but numerous sculptures and pieces of furniture from that era with the rooms being richly decorated and the ceilings covered with glorious frescos - I got off one photo before being told "No Photos"
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| Part of the grand staircase |
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| Modern Art outside Pitti... |
Following a mid afternoon lunch in the supermarket (yes there is a place you can sit down to eat food purchased in the shop) we ambled our way back through the city, knees buckling from the heat, back to the B&B.
The only downside is that we have to get up to go out to a local cafe for dinner.
Tomorrow we plan to have a day grip to San Gimignano & Siena - we hope Mrs GPS has a good night's sleep and doesn't wake up cranky!
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| ...and more |
