We had the morning free to do as we wished. I decided to get up at 5:30 am to get our before the crowds and see the Duomo and Ponte Veccio. Ponte Veccio was beautiful in as the sun was rising. I went back to the hotel for breakfast, then decided to walk to the Boboli Gardens. I crossed the Ponte Veccio and saw the beautiful gold shops. It was already starting to get busy. It is another hot day. The Boboli Gardens were not very busy, probably because of the heat. I was disappointed because the fountains were not running. I enjoyed walking through the paths lined with statues. The views of Florence were beautiful here. I spent several hours at the gardens then headed back to meet our group in front of the Uffizi Gallery for our tour. We met our local guide, Ricardo and we used our audio sets so we could hear Ricardo in the galleries. After our tour, I stayed to view some of the galleries that our tour did not cover. Several of the rooms were empty-the paintings had been removed. Perhaps they were on display at another museum. I spent a relaxing evening after being in the heat all day writing in my journal. Tomorrow we are off to Rome!

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