Florence

Last Wednesday we took the train to Florence. We arrived and in a timely fashion (interpret: quickly, but not too rushed) found and checked into our hotel. Gary had booked our family into a very nice hotel close to the train station. It was pretty expensive, but SO worth it. Next we met up with the students outside the Uffizi Gallery to give them their entrance tickets. One group never made it to the museum, but they called us to let us know they were in Florence, but had gotten on the wrong bus. The gallery was pretty cool. As Maren put it, lots of paintings. One of the more famous ones, The Birth of Venus, was on a bigger canvas than I expected. Definitely worth seeing. The view over the river Arno was also not to be missed.

We were to meet the students at the Accademia at 2:45, so off we went. This is the museum with Michelangelo's David. I never knew this sculpture was of David when he was about to go fight Goliath. Maybe it's obvious to everyone else, but it was something new I learned that day. It's a pretty impressive sculpture. When you come into the museum and turn to the left, you enter a long darkened room with the 14 foot tall sculpture at the end where it's all lit up. Kind of took my breath away. I sat at the end farthest from the statue for a long time (at first to just cool down and chat with various students as they came along, then to appreciate the beauty of the sculpture). Finally I was ready to go up close. Wow! It was amazing! Up close you can see the veins in his feet and hands and the look on his face. (We won't talk about the lower middle part of his body because I am not an artist.) I wish we could have taken pictures, but it's not allowed. I'll just have to treasure the memory in my mind. We also looked at the unfinished sculptures, Prisoners, and some musical instruments on display.

After the museum, we wandered the streets for awhile before heading back for a little rest at the hotel. We came upon a market area with tons of leather goods--something we hadn't really seen in Rome. Gary said it's because it's more northern. Maren ended up with a few braided leather bracelets, and I bought a fun red purse. I don't know if it's a knock-off of some famous brand, but I sure like it and figure I'll use it all winter long to remind me of the hot, hot day I spent in Florence.

Everyone's top two favorites in Florence:
Gary--Uffizi Gallery and dinner at Ciro & Sons (second two favorites: hot shower and full breakfast)
AnneMarie--David sculpture and dinner at Ciro & Sons
Carson--David sculpture and breakfast buffet (second two favorites: Birth of Venus and dinner)
Maren--David sculpture