Florence

Marble Covered Duomo (Church)

Wow, What Detail!

Porta del Paradiso or the "Gates of Paradise"

One of the "Gates of Paradise" Panels

Medici Palace

The Famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Day 7
Medieval Streets

Ciao Venice! Now we're on our way to Florence – Firenze, the city of art (and shopping for leather).

Shortly after checking into our Florence hotel, Hotel California, we walked a block down from our hotel to the Accademia Museum which houses Michelangelo's David. For museum tours, we all get headsets so we can hear our guide without disturbing other patrons. We walked into a hall that had Michelangelo's unfinished statues, the Prisoners, on either side of us, leading us to the larger than life David.

The Prisoners are amazing to see. Each is a block of marble that looks as though a human figure is trying to free itself from the stone. The front of each figure is visible while the back is still encased in the marble block. Each one is rough and unpolished. You are able to see the individual chisel marks. Seeing these unfinished sculptures makes the David even more impressive. He towers above you, gazing off confidently. Wow, he must be the height of two people at least, and that's without the pedestal. The magnificence of actually being in the presence of such a masterpiece was breathtaking. Our group stayed a long time examining every angle of the piece.

Next on the agenda, we were off on our orientation walk with Ferdi. Amazingly, nearly all the main attractions are just a few blocks from our hotel door. First we saw the beautiful church whose facade is made entirely of white, green and pink marble. Not just the front either, we're talkin' the whole thing! Front, sides and back.

Across from the church is the small baptistry whose doors are called Porta del Paradiso or the Gates of Paradise. This was one of my favorites from art history. It did not disappoint! The doors depict stories of the Old Testament in 12 bronze relief panels. The artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed them in 1452 using mathematics to achieve a new level of perspective for the time. It was said that these doors inspired Michelangelo, who was the first to call them The Gates of Paradise. They are truly lovely to behold in person.

We continued our walk to Piazza Signorina where the Medici Palace stands looking like the picture of a medieval castle, complete with coats of arms lining the front wall. The Medici where a powerful family whose influence reached far beyond Florence. Their greatest contribution to the Renaissance was their patronage of the arts. This piazza should really be called the Piazza of Statues. There are a row of them in front of the Palace, including a replica of the David where it originally stood. (Advice: Pay the fee to see the real one at the Accademia, the replica just doesn't show all the detail you see with the cleaned up original.) Plus there is a covered open air gallery of Renaissance statues right there for all the public to see - no admission, no line ups.

Unfortunately, this piazza wasn't always so art friendly. This is where they had the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497. Countless pieces of fine art and music from the Renaissance were destroyed by flame because it was seen as sinful and indulgent.

Next we headed to the adjacent "U" shaped building called the Uffizi Gallery. At the end of the "U" you have a lovely view of the Arno River and famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. We made our way to the Ponte Vecchio which is lined with goldsmiths. It is known as one of the best places to buy gold jewelry in Italy and the view from the bridge is gorgeous.

On to dinner! Ah starving!! Of course the minute we walk into, Ristorante Giglio Rosso, Ferdi is greeted by half the people there. I swear he must know most of the people in Italy! We were seated in a separate room all to ourselves. The dinner started with a plate of three pastas. The best was the wonderful gnocchi. It's a white pasta with a filling that was covered with white sauce - DIVINE! Next was a plate of thinly sliced steak with arugula - so good.

Our waiter was a lovely fellow who was so funny, making jokes and teasing Ferdi. He came by to clear some platters from the table but found that not all the potatoes were eaten. The waiter started feeding the potatoes to Ferdi and I took a picture, so I was next to help finish the potatoes! Too funny! Wow, what a great dinner with everyone! The waiter even gave us all a hug as we left. Now that's friendly.

Just One More Potato for you!

View From Uffizi Gallery

Comfy Room

Piazza Signorina

Me & My Date

View From Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Day 8
Art and Leather

Today we started our day with a visit to the Uffizi Art Gallery with a local art guide who really knew his stuff. He explained the works historical importance with such a wonderful passion that captured the emotional importance of the work too.

Our guide took us through the Gallery showing us the main works. The best for me were the works of Botticelli, we walked into a room that had two big pieces of his, The Birth of Venus and Apparition of Spring. So lovely and much warmer in color than I'd ever seen in any reproduction. I so enjoy the women of Botticelli, no sticks in sight, all beautiful healthy looking figures. Their skin is painted so luminously yet with an alabaster hue, and all the figures with flowing gowns, hair and fairy tale backgrounds.

We carried on through the gallery. The next two highlights were a painting by Michelangelo, and one by DaVinci. I loved the realism of the DaVinci which had such amazing details. Such wonderful art!

After our tour of the gallery we had the rest of the day to ourselves. I headed to the leather market. Ferdi told us that if you want to buy leather this is the city for it. Top quality and competitive prices. So I went not really planning on buying anything special just a wallet maybe...well so much for that plan... I walked out with a leather travel bag, jacket and a date for tonight!

When the leather jacket salesman asked me for a date, I thought, "why not"?! I thought it would be a great chance to get to know a local and I really wanted to see where the locals eat. So we decided to meet at the David in Piazza Signorina at 8pm and I was to wear the jacket. I told my guide Ferdi, he laughed, and said, "If he wants you to come up and see his stamp collection, say no," and we both laughed. I had Ferdi's cell and the group had all decided to eat at the same restaurant as last night so I'd know where they'd be.

I arrived a little early and sat on the steps of the Medici Palace next to the David. There were a group of young Italian guys that were sitting at the other end of the stairs. I had barely been there when one of them came over and tried to talk to me, but he couldn't speak much English and I only spoke limited Italian. But he just wouldn't leave! So I remembered some Italian gestures that Ferdi had taught us the night before. I brushed the back of my hand under my chin (which means you are nothing to me) and he left!

Well he left but then one of his friends that did speak English decided to give it a try! He asked if I wanted a date and I explained that I already had one, but that didn't seem to matter to him and he kept trying. I did the hand under the chin, but that didn't work so I took it to the next level and put the finger nail of my thumb under my top front teeth and flicked my thumb forward (meaning you are not even worth the dirt under my nail) and then he finally left. Well in the span of waiting 10 minutes, I could have had my pick of two Italians and an American! So ladies, I guess if you're looking for a date, the steps of a Piazza is your best place for a pick up!

My date arrived and took me to a tandoori/italian restaurant. Unfortunately my date underestimated the amount of importance I place on a good authentic meal. It was the worst meal I had this entire trip. I'm pretty sure it came out of the freezer, bummer! It turns out he's not Italian but from Kashmir. He's been living in Florence for 12 years. So he was not exactly Italian, but a local for sure. Once he realized I was not going back to his place, we had a pretty nice time. He made up for the disappointing dinner by taking me for the best gelato in town. Then we went to see the author Dante's house. It was so neat to see. I had no idea that it was here and so close to my hotel. He walked me to my hotel, kissed me goodnight and said goodbye.

I was checking my email in the hotel lobby when my group poured in and someone yelled, "Hey, Sarah's here; we can call off the watch!" They said they had 2 hour watches to sit up in the lobby for when I got back. They all asked how my date went and we had some good laughs. Nancy said, "Oh we're just so glad to see your smiling face, we were a little worried." Ahh, so cute. Yeah, I've got a good group.