Went to the Santa Maria Novella church and toured the interior of the basilica, chapels and sacristy. Some amazing artwork, including frescoes from the 1300s which were heavily damaged in the flood of the 1960s, and which they are trying to restore. There is also an astrological "clock" on the floor of the basilica, where a beam of light from one of the stained glass windows illuminates the zodiac sign which is dominant (Gemini was lit for my birthday yesterday), equinoxes and solstices. I rather liked the painting of John the Baptist dowsing Christ - John was wearing a leopard skin outfit just like Tarzan's.
Stopped back at the apartment with our goodies - it's nice to have a place that's centrally located for breaks and to drop off purchases, so you don't have to cart them around town. Had a healthy salad and some meats and cheeses for lunch, then hiked up the hill to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. The Gardens are massive, and a great place to hang out in the heat of the day, as many Italian families seemed to be doing; people sprawled on blankets on the lawns, napping on concrete benches near the ponds, and pushing strollers across the gravel paths.
Our ticket to Boboli also got us in to the Argentum and Costume museums, which were interesting, but overwhelming in the end, filled with beautiful art objects, jewelry, and plunder from the New World. Stopped at a quiet cafe for an aperol spritz and a bowl of munchies, and relaxed for a while. Back to the apartment to get cleaned up before dinner. Had a great pizza at one of the nearby places, Osteria Ristorante Centropoveri, that we stumbled upon, and which turned out to be a very nice place - saw some amazing platters of food go by while we awaited our (probably) final Italian pizza, and the place was jam-packed with mostly locals by the time we departed, line out the door. A stop for pistachio and cinnama gelato and my night was complete.
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