Florence

Michelangelo Hill!
Duomo
Giotto's Bell Tower
Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti
Our great meal at Garibaldi's.


December 14, 2009 (continued)
Forgot to add that we went to Saint Marco square with a loaf of bread and thought it would be fun to feed the pigeons. Dad and I started throwing pieces and about 200 birds flocked around us. There were about 5 that landed right on Dad, and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t throw the bread, so the birds started landing on me. I couldn’t decide if I should scream or laugh, and the birds just kept on coming. Eventually we ran out of bread and the birds left us alone1 We went to McDonalds (didn’t get food!) for the internet and then we took the waterbus through the Grand Canal to the train station.

We boarded the train for Florence and met a really nice Australian couple about Scott’s age. Scott played cards and computer games with them most of the trip – I just listened to their wonderful accents! Most of the time we traveled by beautiful green fields, but we went through a mountainous pass right after Bologna it was snowing and the trees were all frosted white. There were really long tunnels so we only got glimpses of the beautiful snow, but the glimpses were amazing!

We got into Florence about 4pm and Scott located our hotel, which was very close to the train station. The hotel was nice – not like Venice – but in a pretty good location. We asked the hotel for a suggestion of where to eat and it happened to be a place Scott had been with his group from Point Loma. Dad got a huge pizza and bruschetta (the best I’ve ever had) and Scott and I had spaghetti and fried pork steak (ok, in Indiana it’s a tenderloin!) and both were amazingly good. The portions were huge, but we had to keep eating becaue it was so good. Afterwards we came back to the hotel and just fell asleep.

December 15th, 2009

We started the day with a great breakfast at our hotel and then went to the Accademia where Dad and I saw The David statue for the first time. No picture could ever compare to seeing the actual statue – it was so amazing. There were also unfinished Michelangelo sculptures of slaves. It seemed like the people were trying to get out of the marble! There was also a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph display (with a Andy Warhol and a couple of Michelangelo sketches thrown in). We also walked through a marble sculpture room that had hundreds of marble busts and bas reliefs.

We walked to the Duono and got to go inside to see the amazing ceiling. The outside was just as ornate as the inside with lots of different colors of marble. There was a huge bell tower designed by Giotto. We saw the original statues of the Rape of the Sabine and the Gates of Paradise. It was really cold out so we headed for the Uffizi Gallery. We was the Birth of Venus, and spring by Botticelli. We saw Rembrants, Titians, Raphaels, DiVinci’s, and tons of others. There was a beautiful view of the River Arno from the museum.

After the museum we went by the Medici Palace and into the leather market. We had fun shopping around, and actually ran into the Australian couple again. We came back to the hotel and rested for a bit, then Scott and I went out to take pictures at night. We brought back Donner Kababs (I had chicken! Dad and Scott went with the traditional lamb!) grapes and chocolate! We watched a Cary Grant movie with dubbed Italian voices (not quite as good as the Italian Simpsons or Benny Hill of last night!)

December 16, 2009

We started out the day with a nice breakfast of croissants and coffee and tea, and then we headed off to the Santa Maria Novella basilica, where we saw Massaccio's Trinity Fresco, Giotto's Crucifix painting and the great inside of the church. We then headed past the Uffizzi, saw the Pont Vecchio bridge, and then caught a bus to the top of Michelangelos Piazzalle. It was a great view of the city, and we also went to the San Minato Church up there. The only dissapointment was the gift shop being closed, as we all wanted to try the honey made by the monks. We had a late lunch of pappa di pompadoro, priuscutto, and bruschetta with white wine. (Thanks Richard for the suggestions - we're going to Rome tomorrow and once again accept any ideas!!)

Song of the Day