Taking Florence by Storm

After our morning trip to the pastacceria, we caught a 9 o’clock train to Florence. Bec and Terry had three things they were hoping to do: visit the Duomo, see Michelangelo’s magnificent statue of David at the Gallery Accademia, and walk around the Uffizi Gallery to see all of the incredible Renaissance art.

We had tried getting tickets to the two galleries the night before, but we found the ticket services only had a few times for gallery entry available or they were charging too much in service fees. We were trying to prevent a situation where we had to stand in line for a number of hours to get into the galleries, especially the Uffizi.

So, when we got off the train in Florence, we made a beeline to the Uffizi Gallery. By this time it was near 10:30, and there was already what Bill estimated to be about a three-hour wait to get into the Uffizi, TR asked if there was a box office where we could get tickets for later in the day. Eureka! We were pointed in the right direction, and we got our tickets for the Uffizi for 3:30 that afternoon. And, to our great delight, they also sold the tickets to Gallery dell’ Accademia right there at that same box office, so we got four tickets to that gallery for 1:00. No long lines.

We walked towards the Duomo via Piazza della Signoria, a beautiful square in Florence that has numerous pieces of art, much of it replicas of the genuine article located in some nearby museum or other. For example, there is a replica of Michelangelo’s David in the piazza. It’s pretty to look at, but no match for the real McCoy. But the piazza is a pretty one, and gives you a good feel for what Florence is all about.

My sister and I both agreed (quietly, because we don’t want to be considered travel heathens) that we are underwhelmed by Florence. While we both appreciate the art, the sheer number of tourists takes away from the Renaissance feeling of the city. There are lovely clothing and shoe shops if that is your thing, but we are not really much into that kind of shopping.

Having said that, when you come upon the Duomo and see Brunelleschi’s dome for the first time, it really is breath-taking. The story apparently goes that Pope Julius II saw the beautiful dome in Florence, and wanted an even more beautiful dome on St. Peter’s in Rome. He asked Michelangelo to build a dome even better than the one in the Duomo in Florence. Michelangelo replied, “I can build you a bigger dome, but I can’t build you a more beautiful one.”

And he was probably right. From the outside, the church is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I have ever seen. The dome is the icing on the cake. Upon walking inside, it is a disappointment, and St. Peter’s wins hands down. One of the things that did catch my eye, however, were the candle holders, which you see the minute you walked in the door.

After the Duomo, we had a bit of time to kill, so we walked over to the big market and shopped. TR bought a leather bag and I bought a beautiful purse. Terry also bought some ties and Bec bought some souvenirs. The market consists of dozens of booths selling clothing, leather goods, ceramics, scarves, and many other things at extraordinarily good prices.

We made a quick run into the Central Food Market where we had lunch. We didn’t have time to really walk around the food market, but Bill and I might come back next week because it looked very interesting with lots of different kinds of food displayed.

From the Market, we walked over to Accademia and got in line for our 12:30 tickets. Ten minutes later we were inside the doors. The Accademia has beautiful art, but the focal point, of course, is David. He stands at the end of the hall under a dome with perfect lighting. He is so beautiful that you simply are awestruck. If there is any piece of art that show’s Michelangelo’s artistic brilliance, it is David. It is beyond me how you can get ligaments, muscles, and veins out of marble.

We took time between the Accademia and the Uffizi to have some gelato at Florence’s famous Vivoli’s. Between the gelato, the daily pastries, and the pasta I consume almost daily, it is no wonder I have gained weight despite the miles we walk nearly every day. We enjoyed our afternoon dessert very much.

As we walked towards the Uffizi, we walked past a little market area where they were selling leather goods. Bec had seen a purse earlier in the day but had not gotten it. Lo, and behold, they found the purse and Terry talked her into buying it. The price for the exact purse was 25 euros less than in the store window. Nothing like getting a great deal and an extraordinarily looking purse to boot!

We spent about two hours at the Uffizi Gallery looking at the incredible Renaissance art. We saw paintings by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Lippi, and many others. My favorite each time is The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. It is so pretty it can bring tears to your eyes. By time we finished, all four of us were very tired and had very sore feet.

After a quick trip across the Ponte Vecchio, we finally settled on a little restaurant called Il David that was on the Piazza Signoria, where we sat outside and gazed at the David replica while we ate our pizza.

By time we got on our train at 8:10, we were four pooped travelers. We came back home and all of us hit our beds pretty early.