We decided to sleep in and skipped the hotel breakfast. Instead, we had brunch at the Roberto Cavalli cafe and consumed the most fabulous chocolate eclair. It was in this upscale cafe where we noticed some interesting people.
A noticed a lady decked out in a shiny patterned dress that subtly reflected light as she walked - one could not help noticing her not only because of her fabulous dress, but also because of her supermodel looks and confident strut.
I was observing this English elderly couple who was seated near us, and wondering if they could be English royalty on a personal holiday. Unlike some people who try to look rich, this couple was obviously extremely wealthy. The elderly lady, who looked like she was in her 70s, caught my attention because she was decked out in a skin-tight spaghetti strapped long dress that seemed more appropriate for a cocktail party. Her hair was bundled up with a Dior hair clip, her feet wore Chanel heels, and on her finger was the biggest diamond I have ever seen - my best guess is that it must be at least 2 carats (it was about 1.5cm wide in diameter and I am not exaggerating). Her items were obviously very branded, but slightly old-fashioned, so quite suitable for her age. Her companion wore a simple white shirt (the material looks expensive), brown slacks and white leather shoes. My personal opinion is that white shoes are usually reserved for either the male fashionista, or the terribly rich. Most people, I believe, would choose a dark coloured pair of branded shoes over a light coloured pair for practical reasons.
After our interesting "people-watch" at the cafe, we went to visit a small church, Basilica Santa Maria. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the church interior. It was a relatively simply decorated church, but had these stunning paintings that looked as if they reflected light.
Our initial plan was to visit the Duomo, but changed our mind when we reached there. There was a long queue even though it was half an hour to its closing at 5pm. We visited the Palazzo Vecchio instead - where the ceiling of every room was filled with paintings. Being not too culturally inclined, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the paintings and my neck ached a little from having to stare up the ceiling of each room. But I was a little puzzled why there were paintings of gods from Greek mythology (e.g. I learnt that Jupiter would have been eaten by Saturn, his father if not for his mother's intervention, and the mother was apparently the father's sister. Jupiter married his sister, Juno, as well) as well as paintings from the Catholic faith - to me, paintings of such diverse origins should be mutually exclusive.
A thought it would be nice to have a non-Italian dinner for a change, and we headed to Hard Rock Cafe. This is an immensely popular restaurant, and when we went there at 8pm last evening, waiting time would be 2 hours. Anyway, we went earlier and managed to get a table immediately (phew!).
The food was okay (we shared a appetiser platter and pulled pork burger) though portions were humongous. If we were just listening casually, the restaurant was filled with atmospheric rock music, which was actually quite nice cos it made the restaurant lively and very "hard rock cafe". There was a huge MTV screen right at the front, and we couldn't help watching the MTVs while waiting for the food. And we were appalled (more so for me) that 3 out of 4 MTVs screened had titles that ridiculed the Christian faith and the content was totally absurd and would anger any believer. I don't even want to recall these MTVs. A even commented that the content of the MTVs was inappropriate for a family restaurant. He also found it interesting that this popular restaurant was screaming a controversial message when the rest of Florence seemed pretty religious.
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