Hello!

Yesterday, Josh and I did a bit more exploring in Florence. We found a "perfume pharmacy" for lack of better words. We had read about it online. It was supposed to have some of the best perfume and other products sold in Florence. All products are made in house with special pharmesudical methods rather than perfume methods. The store was not well marked and on a random road. We expected it to be tiny but it was huge and very ornate. The entire building interior was gilded and tiled. It was lovely. After looking at all the products, I decided to buy a lavender perfume.

The remaider of the day we enjoyed walking around a few more shops, taking a nap and enjoying a delicious dinner.

Today was the first day our museum pass worked! YAY FINALLY! First we went to the Uffizi gallery. Josh and I figured we would start big. We woke up early and went straight there. After activating our passes, we waited in an entrance line that was surprising large for so early in the morning.... I would hate to show up late to the gallery. The line was pure madness. Parent kept losing their children, people couldn't figure out how to walk in a straight line and Josh and I were about to lose all hope in humanity when it came to patience. Finally we were in! The gallery itself was pretty amazing. Beautiful windows lined the walls and the ceilings were art pieces in themselves. Most of the work at the beginning of the gallery were old, gold, religious pieces. They were gorgeous in person. My favorite part were the halos. Each painter had a different style of halo that was outstanding in its own way. In textbooks, I found the halos annoying but in person, they are phenomenal. My favorite part of the gallery though, was the Botticelli room. His paintings were breath taking. Really really amazing. There was a line just to enter the room because so many people wanted to see his work. Josh and I stayed in the room for a while admiring everything. The way he paints grass is really cool. I love the romantic way he paints.

We then went to Sante Croce Cathedral. I love the exteriors of all these churches. And the ceilings. Those two aspects are usually the most impressive in my opinion. We stayed there a while and enjoyed sitting in the courtyard and drawing. After seeing the church, we stopped for some delicious gelato on the way to the sculpture museum. The sculpture museum was pretty straight forward. Lots of sculptures. I really enjoyed this museum. It was a mostly outdoor museum with lots to look at. Marble sculptures are just so impressive...

At this point, we were both exhausted. We came home for a quick nap and then woke up for dinner. We looked up a place to eat online and went to it. It was a small cafe called La Buchetta. The food was good but overpriced. I love how Europeans eat. They treat each meal like a precious time to enjoy good food and good relationships. That's how meals should always be thought of in my opinion. The only downside is that everything shuts down in the middle of the day for a few hours because they care so much. Hahaha. Compromise.

Ciao,

Lilly

Breakfast at home - 12€

Lunch - 20-30€?

Osteria L'Antico Noè - 41€

Gilli - 6.40€

Caffetteria Bartolini - 15.50€

La Bruchetta - 56.50€