This morning we went up to the Garden Terrace of our hotel for breakfast and then set out to the travel agency where they book tours of Florence.  This was key.  Unless you get reservations way in advance, the only way to get into the Uffizi is to be part of a tour.  The alternative is a five hour wait.  So, we signed ourselves up for the afternoon tour of the Uffizi and a tour of the Pitti Palace and the Duomo for the next morning.

Now we had a bit of time to ourselves, so I dragged Julie back to this fabulous store, Beltrami, where they had the most gorgeous leather items.  I made a couple of purchases -- I really had just gone back there for some walking shoes, but another item called to me, and I had to have it.

After dropping my purchases off at the hotel, we hurried over to the Palazzo Vecchio . . .

This shot of the Palazzo Vecchio is actually one taken later on this day from Kelley & Dave's Penthouse terrace.

As I mentioned earlier, the Palazzo Vecchio, or Old Palace, was the seat of power in Florence until the advent of the Medici.  When they came to power, they decided to move into the Pitti Palace and relocated most of the government offices into the Uffizi.  Some events still took place at the Palazzo Vecchio, but it was no longer the center of Florentine power.

Here I am in the entrance courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio.

This is a picture of the altar in the main salon of the Palazzo Vecchio.

This statue is Michelangelo's "Victory" and can be found in the main salon of the Palazzo Vecchio.

After wandering through the many rooms of the Palazzo Vecchio, we dashed across the Piazza di Signoria to get some water before meeting up with our tour group to visit the Uffizi Museum.  The Uffizi was incredible.  The collection of art is astonishing and the building itself is a work of art.  The most spectacular room is a museum piece itself.  It is an hexagonal room with gem-laden floors and portraits hung on every square inch of space on the walls.  We had a tour guide who was intelligent both in what she knew about the facts of the paintings, but also in the added stories she knew as an Italian about the lives of the artists and the artisans and the people they knew and loved.  Even though I had been to the Uffizi several times, seeing great art and architecture never gets old or boring.  And for Julie, it was as if her school books had come alive.  Unfortunately, as with almost all of the museums in Florence, no pictures were allowed (fear of flashes damaging the works of art), so the only shot we were able to get was from a window of the Uffizi looking out. . .

This is the Valoresian Corridor, constructed by the Medici to connect the Uffizi with the Pitti Palace, so that they would not have to walk (or be carried, as the later Medici were) on regular streets from their home to their offices.  It is called the Valoresian Corridor, because it was designed by the artist/architect Valoreso.

After concluding our tour of the Uffizi, we made our way back to the hotel, where we ran into most of the wedding party as they were arriving.  We decided we would all get settled and meet again that night for drinks on the roof-top terrace of the hotel.  I then went to have my hair done, while Julie wandered around a bit before coming back to get me.  The woman who did my hair was fabulous -- we think there may be something in the water that makes hair really soft and shiny.  You'll probably notice the change in pictures from this point on.

When we went up to meet Kelley and Dave and their family, we were treated to a view of their penthouse suite . . .

Here are Dave and Kelley on their penthouse terrace with a fabulous view of the Palazzo Vecchio.

We all then went back down to the terrace garden for drinks . . . (Video Clip of Cocktails on the Rooftop Garden - 5.31MB)

This is another picture of the Palazzo Vecchio -- this time from the terrace garden.  They say that the Palazzo Vecchio is the most recognized symbol of Florence -- I'm sure you can see why.

We changed our plans for dinner in order to go with the Swaims, et al, a great bunch of people who love to travel as much as we do, with as much enthusiasm for everything as us, perhaps even more!  We ate at a ristorante (sixteen of us at that time) and enjoyed every morsel.  I don’t believe there is a bad meal to be had anywhere in Italy.  We closed the restaurant down and then got a little lost on the way back to the hotel (much wine was had by all, so direction was a challenge).  We finally managed to make it back to the hotel and were only a little wet for our trouble -- the rain that we had been told was going to be around all week had finally decided to show itself for the first time -- luckily, with only a drizzle for now.

Entirely exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel, we went to bed immediately in preparation for an early awakening the next morning, in order to catch our tour of the Pitti Palace and the Duomo.

Use the links on the left side of the page to see days three, four, and five (including the Wedding Day) in Florence.