I can go across the Ponte Vecchia, with its gold and jewellery shops, to the Pitti Palace, or turn right and reach the Piazza della Signoria through the cloister of the Uffizi. I'm getting tired and dusk is falling, so I stay this side of the river and pass under the sombre windows of the dark grey Uffizi. There are still street traders on the steps, selling both originals and cheap prints (I bought one of each last time I was here). As usual, there's a chancer among them who tries to get himself invited for a drink with me, but it's all in fun and nobody loses face when I say "no".
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