Saturday my roommate Catie and I decided to go and visit the Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti. We both purchased Museum Cards for around €35 through our school which allows us free entry to certain museums around Florence for a year. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing this card because museum fees can really add up, especially the more well known museums like the Academia or Uffizi. Those alone can run you 15 euro per visit. Thankfully the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti are part of the free entry so we decided to spend a day wandering around. When we arrived we learned that entrance was free for everyone as it was European Heritage Day.
If you decide to visit the Boboli Gardens, make sure you have a good chunk of the day to just relax and explore. And if you decided to tack on the exploration of Palazzo Pitti as well give yourself at least two days or your experience there won't be what you hope it to be. You'll wear yourself out and come out exhausted and overwhelmed. Catie and I are so grateful to be living in Florence because we can come back as much as we want. If you try to rush Palazzo Pitti and Boboli you're guaranteed going to miss out on so much detail. We only got through about a fourth of the gardens and one floor of Palazzo Pitti before we had to tap out and call it a day.
After we took a short break we decided to watch a film at the Odeon Theatre in Piazza Strozzi. The US needs to take note and follow the lead of theaters here in Italy. Only one preview and half way through the film there was a short 10 minute intermission for bathroom breaks. It was wonderful. As we walked out of the theatre we heard drums from the nearby Piazza della Signoria. We rushed over and found ourselves witnessing the beginning of a flag ceremony in celebration of European Heritage Day. The drummers and flag bearers were dressed in traditional garb and the whole thing was just spectacular. Young men and old men from Florence all participated and we were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time. We even got amazing spots and I was able to record some of the flag showcase performances. Sometimes I have to stop and pinch myself as a reminder that why yes, I really do live in Florence.
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