Saturday 21st June 2014 - Florence for 3 nights
Left the lovely Chianti countryside behind for the short
drive to Florence
to return the rental car and check in to our hotel.
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| Hard to imagine but it must get cold here sometimes |
Florence
is best explored on foot, and that is pretty much what we did for three days. Piazzas, sculptures and basilicas; pizzas, salads and pastas; just
wandered about soaking up the atmosphere and trying not to be overwhelmed by
the sometimes intense tourist crowds.
The highlight of Florence
was hands down visiting 'David' at the Accademia. For a while we thought we may
miss out on the opportunity, we hadn't realised that you ought to book a week
or more in advance if you didn't want to risk spending half a day in the queue
for 'unreserved' visits.
Late Sunday afternoon we joined the end of a long queue
having decided to wait and see how quickly it may move. Accademia is closed
Monday and we leave Tuesday morning. After just five minutes, an independent
tour guide starts enquiring of those of us near the end of the queue if we
would like to form a small group and have him take us in for 30 euro per person
(including the 12 euro entry fee). Having previously been reliably informed
that Florence
is incredibly strict about its registered tour guides along with the fact he
said we need not pay for the 45 minute tour until the end, we quickly agreed.
Another three couples joined us and after about fifteen minutes we inside and
instead of only seeing 'David', we enjoyed an interesting tour that included
viewing some precious musical instruments and learning of their origins. It was
well worth the extra euros and there is no way the people standing at the end
of that 'unreserved' queue were getting in that day. By the way, once inside,
the crowd was minimal, management clearly not caving to the temptation of
selling as many tickets as possible but ensuring a pleasant visit.
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| Hard not to purchase some of this fruit |
Monday afternoon, we met up with Sandy's
sister Julie who was finishing her small group Tuscany
tour in Florence.
It was Julie's birthday and we had a few drinks and a meal nearby the railway
station before waving Julie off on the train, back to Paris
and then Australia
for her. Hopefully unaffected by the French love of striking, as now, just on
the brink of European school holidays, the air traffic controllers have gone on
strike which apparently they do every year.
After 3 nights we are taking the 10:35am train to Venice
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| Gelataria's are fantastic and usually have a queue - except the one that snipped Sandy for 7 euros (usually 2.50) no queue there and prices displayed around the corner where you can't see them |
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| The minus sign means NO ENTRY but someone has had some fun with this sign |
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| One way street amorous sign |
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| Coloured sheets covering scaffolding |
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| Cathedral - the Duomo complex |
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| Cathedral - the Duomo complex |
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| Police get issued a gun or a handbag |
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| Ponte Vecchio - the old bridge |
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| Park sideways - no worries |
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| God |
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| Fake David and a with a pigeon at Palazzo della Signoria |
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| Italian churches are amazing |
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| Huge bronze doors on the baptistry |
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| Way up high zoom shot with our new 20X |
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| Cathedral - the Duomo complex |
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| Great jazz buskers |
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| Our tour guide at Accademia |
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| First piano type instrument made in Florence and given to the Medici family as a gift |
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| Early piano |
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| Early piano |
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| Early piano |
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| Piano guitar |
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| Piano guitar was invented for ladies so they didn't break their nails |
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| Not as many people as in the queue outside |
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| Michelangelo unfinished emerging sculpture |
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Michelangelo unfinished emerging sculpture
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| David with his slingshot over the shoulder and a rock in his hand after he has defeated Goliath. When he was finished the governor of Florence was first to see it and he said he thought the nose was too big so Michelangelo pretended to fix it and dropped dust from one hand as he worked - then the governor said it was perfect |
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| Two other sculptors had a go at the huge slab of marble but reckon it wasn't any good. Michelangelo refused to patch up their work and left it unfinished as if to say I'll do the front then lads. He kept it covered and worked, ate and slept with David for several years |
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| David and Andreus - David is huge as he was meant for the top of the cathedral but he was so perfect they decided to keep him on the ground facing Rome |
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| Michelangelo unfinished emerging sculpture |
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