Florence; Saturday, 16 July, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in as it was a Saturday and took a late breakfast, which was probably not the greatest idea as it meant I was out wandering around town at the hottest part of the day.

My first stop of the morning was the Giardino Bardini. These are a set of formal gardens that climb up the slope of the hill that Piazzale Michelangelo is located on. You can climb up through the gardens from river level before reaching the top of the gardens for more stunning views over the city centre, framed by pine trees.

I exited the gardens at the top, from where it’s a short walk round to the Medici built Forte di Belvedere which sits in a commanding position overlooking the city. The fort now houses a number of exhibition spaces which you can visit at a cost, alternatively you can get a free ticket which lets you wander around the battlements and terraces of the castle. The free ticket also gives you access to the café on the terrace at the top of the fort, from where I had a leisurely lunch in the shade looking across to the Duomo directly opposite me.

At the rear of the fort is access to the Boboli Gardens, my ticket from the Bardini Gardens allowing access of the same day, enabling you to complete a walk up and down the hill through the gardens. Whilst this is a pleasant walking route today it’s real purpose was to enable the Medici family to quickly flee from the Pallazo Pitti to the Fortress if they were ever threatened by a revolt.

I spent quite some time wandering down through the gardens and exited them at the entrance via the Porta Romana, rather than through the Pitti Palace. By the time I got to there I was exhausted from walking through the heat so from the Porta Romana I caught a bus back into the centre of town and then the tram back out to my hotel to freshen up with a nice shower and a change of clothes before heading back into town in the evening to meet up with my colleague for dinner.

After dinner my colleague was going to a concert so I had a wander with her through the streets of the city and over the Ponte alla Carraia at sunset before leaving her to go to her concert and I headed back to the station to pick up the tram back to the hotel for a well earned early night.