We decided to make an early start at the Uffizi this morning, but the gods were conspiring against us. There was a staff meeting which stopped the Gallery from opening until 10am, so rather than wait a couple of hours, we headed up to the Central Market to stock up on provisions. On our way, we stopped at the Loggia Della Signoria to admire the statues without the usual crowds, and then also managed to see the Duomo (cathedral) without the usual hoards blocking the view. We also managed to see the bronze doors from the Battistero San Giovanni, by Lorenzo Ghiberti who was a 23 year old goldsmith who worked on the doors for 20 years. The panels show the life of Jesus from the annunciation through to the crucifixion, as well as depicting saints, church fathers etc. They are absolutely exquisite and we were thrilled to see them, given we thought they were not in display because of the restoration work going on at the Baptistery.

Then we trudged up the big hill behind our apartment to get to Fort Belvedere (I should mention that we were fortified ourselves with yet another gelato before heading up the hill) . We have passed this Fort a number of times and been impressed at its huge walls and position at the highest point in Florence. It was built in 1590 and it is located right next to the Pitti Palace. The idea was that the grand duke (Ferdinand) and his entourage could escape very quickly from the Palace to the Fort if an attack was imminent. The fort is star shaped, with five bastions which were arranged to provide the defence from Florence and the surrounding hills. It has a very large villa at the top, strong rooms in the basements, steep thick walls everywhere, and apparently booby traps in case of attack (which actually has never happened!!).

There was a special exhibition of sculptures by Giuseppe Penone at the Fort. Quite a peculiar exhibition, and not my cup of tea at all. The sculptures were just a series of trees, some with rocks lodged high up in their branches, some trees painted gold, some trees lying on their side also painted gold. Very bizarre - hopefully the museum didn't pay much to exhibit them!!

The 360 degree views from the Fort were quite fabulous (obviously why the Medicis were taken with the spot!). We could see for miles in every direction, seeing the planes take off and land at the airport, every church spire in Florence, plus the river, the hills...

We finished off the day by walking home through the steep Bardini gardens. Again these gardens are beautiful, lush and green but unfortunately this comes with mosquitoes galore! We were covered in red lumps by the time we got down to the bottom of the gardens. I felt sorry for a bride having photos taken at the top - bet she looked a sight after the Mosquitos attacked!