I’ve been having trouble falling asleep before 2/3AM while here in Italy. I do sleep in until 10 or so, unless I have a reservation for something early.

I bought tickets to Boboli Gardens and made my reservation for between 8:15 and 8:30. When morning came, I kind of hated myself. The transportation systems in Florence were not near as simple as the ones in Rome, and I didn’t want to try to track down which bus would take me where I needed to go, so I planned on walking the 35 minutes from my AirBnb to the gardens. Since I left a bit late, I power-walked and actually made it in 30. I looked it up later and realized it was a 2.5 mile trek. Not bad.

The gardens were fairly big, but nothing spectacular in my opinion. Again, it was fall and any blooming flowers were done for the year. I did love that I had basically the whole grounds to myself, though. I took an hour and a half to leisurely stroll the grounds and admire the marble statues.

After the gardens, I was on the hunt for a cappuccino and some semblance of breakfast. Italians do not do massive breakfasts like Americans do. I can appreciate their small morning appetite. I found a piazza that was setting up a morning market and stopped into a cafe.

The pastry was filled with cream and my total breakfast cost me 3.20 euros. Yes, please.

I walked back across the river towards the “city center” and roamed for a bit. The night before, I believed that I had fried my computer charger by plugging it into my outlet converter at the same time that I was charging my external battery via USB. It made a popping sound and the charging brick was buzzing quietly. My goal was to find a computer shop and buy a new one. I walk the mile and a half to find the little Italian store. I walk inside and ask if the shop owner spoke English. “Un po.” I had googled the translation for new computer charger and showed him mine. He helped another customer and then took my cord back.

He returned and said that it wasn’t broken! That it was working fine. “No roto.” Great. I walked all that way for nothing…BUT I didn’t have to buy a new charger for 30 euros!

I walk back to my AirBnb for a little break. It had been an early morning and I was tired. I ate my (fantastic) pizza leftovers from the night before and happily charged my computer. The brick still buzzes, but everything seems to work fine. After a few hours, I knew that I needed to get back out into the city. I stop by my favorite little coffee shop, Le Sorelline, and grab my 2nd cappuccino of the day. Risky.

I forgot to mention that yesterday, I found out that you CAN indeed have a bad cappuccino in Italy. I stopped into a little shop on the way into the city and while the cannoli was fantastic, upon sipping the last bit of my coffee, I had a mouth full of ground espresso beans. Yuck. I returned to where I knew I’d get good coffee.

While in the city earlier, I walked to Palazzo Strozzi, a well known Palace that holds traveling art exhibitions. I wanted to go in, but thought I was spending money on a charger, so I passed on it. Now, I was headed back to catch the exhibition that looked so intriguing. I’m SO glad that I did.

Marina Abramovic is a Serbian artist that has exhibited many different forms of art, but she is most well known for performance art. Since I was visiting later in the day, there was only 1 performance piece scheduled, and I was kicking myself for not going earlier because I’m sure they would have been so interesting to watch. Her work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. She’s been active for over 4 decades in the world of art.

warning: humans without clothes

Yeah, it was a bit shocking for me to walk in and this was the first thing I saw.

All of her works were so interesting, though. I could have spent hours there, had every performance piece been scheduled. I took an hour and a half to walk through the galleries and engage with the pieces, along with a small crowd of others. At least by coming at night, most of the tourists had gone.

I especially enjoyed Counting the Rice. You put all of your belongings in a safe nearby and put on noise cancelling headphones. THAT was so calming and I think I may need to recreate a space for it in my home if my anxiety ever feels overwhelming. Seriously, try it sometime. The silence made all of the difference.

After the galleries, I strolled down much quieter streets back towards my AirBnB with the goal of grabbing some gelato. Rule of thumb is: if the gelateria is by a tourist location, they overcharge you. I learned that the hard way while near Piazza Navona and paid 4.50 euros for some! I now make an effort to pay 2.50 tops.

Mmm. Dark chocolate and fresh strawberry.