22 October ’05, Saturday
Sorry, no pictures of "David", that's what the sign says anyway...
It seems funny to be back in Florence, but seeing as this is Ann’s first time here, we will enjoy it again. Last time we didn’t see the original Michelangelo’s “David”, so I was up early to make a reservation. We got the 4:45pm time, so we were off to see as much of Florence we could before then. We caught the bus down into the old town area, and headed straight to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. From there to the Mercato Centrale or the central market for lunch of sliced beef sandwiches. Now these were special sliced beef sandwiches…loaded with lots of beef fat, special sauces, and some great bread. We topped this off with a glass of their finest local vino. What a treat !!! Now it was time to see some of the big hits of Florence. For me, I’m in a rut because after lunch, I let the ladies go off on their own while I went to find an internet café. I tried to visit one more museum and church, but found I just didn’t have it in me. Louise and Ann on the other hand, took this to be their chance to be out on their own. We made a date for the 4:45 appointment at the Accademia to see “David”, but other than that, we headed off in different directions. They decided to take in the Duomo and the Duomo museum. Rick Steves calls the exterior of the Duomo “noisy neo Gothic”. I guess I would have to say I would agree, it is busy or “noisy”. It is covered with pink, green, and white marble. The cathedral has the 3rd largest nave in “Christendom”. After enjoying St Peters in Rome, it was more difficult to truly find the Duomo here in Florence exciting. Most of the great art work has been removed to the Duomo Museum across the street. Now from what they tell me, that was really worth the time and money to visit. The highlight, if you can call it a highlight, was the gruesome wood carving of Mary Magdalene who was clothed in her matted hair. Fortunately there were other wonderful artists works available to enjoy. Well come 4 o’clock, we all met in front of the Accademia. The gals had to show me their new purchases right away… they had made a deal with one of the street vendors for new watches for the two of them. I’m happy they finally got their own watch, so now I can keep mine on my wrist. It was wonderful to finally see Michelangelo’s “David”, and I’m glad we took the time to do it. There were other interesting works to enjoy, but David was the attraction. After saying good bye to David, we walked through town again and onto our bus stop. The weather held for us most of the day, with a little light rain off and on. Tomorrow we are off to see some “Hill top towns”.
Sorry, no pictures of "David", that's what the sign says anyway...
It seems funny to be back in Florence, but seeing as this is Ann’s first time here, we will enjoy it again. Last time we didn’t see the original Michelangelo’s “David”, so I was up early to make a reservation. We got the 4:45pm time, so we were off to see as much of Florence we could before then. We caught the bus down into the old town area, and headed straight to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. From there to the Mercato Centrale or the central market for lunch of sliced beef sandwiches. Now these were special sliced beef sandwiches…loaded with lots of beef fat, special sauces, and some great bread. We topped this off with a glass of their finest local vino. What a treat !!! Now it was time to see some of the big hits of Florence. For me, I’m in a rut because after lunch, I let the ladies go off on their own while I went to find an internet café. I tried to visit one more museum and church, but found I just didn’t have it in me. Louise and Ann on the other hand, took this to be their chance to be out on their own. We made a date for the 4:45 appointment at the Accademia to see “David”, but other than that, we headed off in different directions. They decided to take in the Duomo and the Duomo museum. Rick Steves calls the exterior of the Duomo “noisy neo Gothic”. I guess I would have to say I would agree, it is busy or “noisy”. It is covered with pink, green, and white marble. The cathedral has the 3rd largest nave in “Christendom”. After enjoying St Peters in Rome, it was more difficult to truly find the Duomo here in Florence exciting. Most of the great art work has been removed to the Duomo Museum across the street. Now from what they tell me, that was really worth the time and money to visit. The highlight, if you can call it a highlight, was the gruesome wood carving of Mary Magdalene who was clothed in her matted hair. Fortunately there were other wonderful artists works available to enjoy. Well come 4 o’clock, we all met in front of the Accademia. The gals had to show me their new purchases right away… they had made a deal with one of the street vendors for new watches for the two of them. I’m happy they finally got their own watch, so now I can keep mine on my wrist. It was wonderful to finally see Michelangelo’s “David”, and I’m glad we took the time to do it. There were other interesting works to enjoy, but David was the attraction. After saying good bye to David, we walked through town again and onto our bus stop. The weather held for us most of the day, with a little light rain off and on. Tomorrow we are off to see some “Hill top towns”.