Florence (Italia Part III)

We arrived in Florence to find that our hotel was on the "5th Avenue" of Florence. After checking in, we averted our eyes from the designer clothing (and prices) and headed towards the Duomo. There were two long lines - one to go up to the cupola (dome) and one to go inside the Basilica. We decided to skip the cupola line and go the next morning (thus continuing the theme of not getting into church domes... when we went back the next day, it was closed until after Easter).

We found the inside of the Duomo quite anticlimactic (below, left)-- though the structure is beautiful, all of the statues and artwork were removed and put into a museum behind the church. We decided to go to the museum, which is where we saw Michaelangelo's other Pieta, and a creepy wooden statue of Mary Magdalene (below, middle). On the way over there, we also passed the "Gates of Paradise" (below, right).











Though we SAID we were not going to shop that day... we did. We went to the leather market at San Lorenzo and it was quite a sight to be seen. There are about 4 blocks worth of carts full of bags, belts, shoes, jackets, wallets, etc with 1-5 shopkeepers at each. Despite that bargaining is commonly practiced, I'm pretty sure Becca put a few merchants out of business with her newly acquired bargaining skills (by the way, I'm in NO way surprised that she's good at that). We each got leather jackets and sandals; I got 2 leather bags (over the top, I know... I already hyperventilated and there's no need to rub it in...).

After hauling our goods back to the hotel, we headed out for a traditional Florentine meal. We went to this great restaurant called Le Mossacce, where we ordered our first course of Ribollita (bean, bread and veggie stew) and cannelloni. We were seated near the open kitchen, and watched them prepare Bistecca alla Fiorentina (and by "prepare" I mean we watched the cook take a meat cleaver and hack away at a very large piece of beef).

Not only was the food great, but so was the company-- next to us sat a very nice couple from Belgium that we ended up hanging out with for the rest of the night. We met others along the way, including a 16 year old Italian (who had quite a knack for acting) with his American exchange student, and another very odd American guy who asked each girl if he could "walk her home" and would not take "no" for an answer.

The next morning we slept in a bit, then headed towards the Ponte Vecchio. This bridge was the only bridge in Florence that survived WWII. Each side of the bridge is lined with shops (mostly beautiful gold jewelry that I really, really couldn't afford after the previous day) and flowers. The first bridge to stand on this spot was built in 996; various floods swept it away, and the current structure dates back to 1345.


Instead of waiting on line at the Uffizi, we bought our tickets for the next day and headed to the Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David. We waited about about an hour and a half to see David (and Michaelangelo's Four Slaves-- they are the only interesting pieces in the small museum). David was pretty cool though-- Michaelangelo liked to create his art considering the perspective of the viewer. For example, the head and hands are larger, as if Michaelangelo gave advanced thought as to where the viewer would be standing (below, not straight on). Obviously we weren't allowed to take pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination.

After that, we went back to the Duomo and up the Bell Tower for a great view of the city (in case you wondered if I got any exercise that week, the Bell Tower had 414 steps... phew). We ended the day at Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is on a hill just south of the River Arno. This is the best view of Florence and the surrounding hills of Tuscany. There was another statue of David-- bronze this time-- and I was actually allowed to take a picture:











On our last half day in Florence, we saw the Santa Croce Basilica (we avoided the leather school in order to save our wallets) where Michaelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli were entombed. Another really cool item was the monument to Gionanni Battista Niccolini by Pio Fredi, which looks a lot like the Statue of Liberty-- it was sculpted 14 years before it was presented to the US by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and France... conspiracy? Probably-- this is the French we're talking about...


Then we went to the Uffizi during our alotted time slot. The Uffizi (translated "Offices") was originally built for the Medici family. Here, the Medicis brought together their extensive art collection, including Botticelli's Birth of Venus and La Primavera, and Titian's Venus of Urbino.

Then we hauled everything - leather, glass, and our tired bodies - back to Rome...