The famous Uffizi houses a concentrated treasure trove of paintings (over 1,700 works, fortunately not all are on display at once), arranged in a basically chronological order.

We had been warned about outrageously long lines, but by happy chance when we arrived there was barely any wait (a tribute to travel in the off-season!).

Within ten minutes we had entered the bookstore and purchased our tickets. There was another wait, about 15 minutes, at the foot of the stairs. They allow only 700 art lovers in the galleries at any one time, but soon we were admitted past the velvet rope and bounding up the grand stairway.

Up and up and up we went, until red-faced and gasping we reached the top. The guard near the stylus looked at our tickets, shook his head, and said grimly "These tickets are-a no good."

"What? But we just bought them downstairs a minute ago!"

"I'm-a sorry, but they are-a no good. You will have to go back down stairs."

We stood there for a moment in silence, until I finally caught something in his face. "He's pulling our leg!" I announced, handing him my ticket.

Found out, he laughed at his joke as he tore our tickets and let us through.

Venus and Cupid
Alessandro Allori (1535-1607)
Notice the pair of doves in the lower right, echoing the main figures.