Kilometres walked : 14

Thursday 20th April, 2023

Gazing up at the grandeur of the building as we walked through to the Boboli Gardens first, the sheer size of it stopped us in our tracks. Palazzo Pitti. How on earth did they build such a place? Look at the size of the stones. Everything about the Pitti Palace was grand. Grand doorways, grand windows and grand archways. With a blue sky above us we started off exploring the garden first whilst it was quiet. Even the garden is on a grand scale. Beautiful, majestic, sculptured, magical and inspiring. So many different words to describe this place. Marble & Stone sculptures beautifully decaying at every turn. Tunnels of greenery to explore. Expansive views across the city. Path ways leading in every direction. Fountains and water features and sweeping stone staircases kept us entranced for over three hours. Such a very special place.

Downing a quick espresso at the cafe bar we next ventured into The Palace itself. Oh wow. We were both rendered speechless. How is this opulence even possible? Originally built in 1458 it oozes wealth and style. The ceiling frescos and plaster work in almost every room are just completely unbelievable. The detail is phenomenal and when you think you have finished you turn the corner and several more rooms appear before you. Massive doors and windows with magnificent marble architraves, spectacular terrazzo floors in every room, again with marble kicks all the way around, views across the city and the gardens, huge fancy chandeliers, jaw dropping detail everywhere you turn, we just couldn’t fathom that people had actually lived here and the amount of money and time it would have taken to complete it was even possible.

Last but definitely not least we headed over to the Bardini Gardens which were also included in our ticket for the day. With our feet almost ready to fall off we slowly strolled around admiring more beauty. The arbor of wisteria was an absolute stand out. The fragrance completely enveloped us. The Italian’s do garden’s beautifully and their use of water features, grotto’s, staircases, statues and pebble paving is something to aspire to.