Trailblazers Too: Thursday, June 7, 2018 (Florence)

So many fun pieces of public art.

We got up early at 7:00. We took showers and then headed to the “Wash and Dry”. It was one of the cleanest little laundromats I had ever seen. The laundry detergent was already in the machine when you started the cycle. The USA laundromats may be the same – haven’t been to one in years. We had to hurry because we had a full day with our first tour at 10:45.

We quickly returned to the apartment and dropped off the laundry then caught a bus to our stop. Nothing takes you directly to a stop, so you can count on at least a 10 minute walk to wherever you are going, that is if you don’t take a wrong turn which is easy to do. Tiffany had booked the reservation last night when she was tired and had inadvertently only booked one for 10:45. When she realized it this morning, she tried to get another but had to get one at 11:00 since the earlier time was sold out. We showed up at the same time for our tour of the Uffizi museum and both got to go in at the same time. The details of the sculptures, paintings, frescoes, and tapestries are amazing. The ceilings are full of ornate artwork and the floors have many mosaic designs. It took us a little more than an hour to tour the museum.

The statue of the Battle of Mentana

Look at that hair on this member of the Medici family

Victoria Roborea statue

Ferdinandus II Medices

Tiffany's family had a painting of this statue in her home growing up.

From the upstairs of the Uffizi

Ponte Vecchio--view from the Uffizi

All the statues playing Freeze Tag :-P

An Open Book
Thought to have been used as doors on bookshelves

Tiffany enjoying art

Afterwards we went to eat lunch at a place Savino had recommended, a sandwich place which was just around the corner. It had huge sandwiches served on focaccia bread for only 5 euros. I had a ham sandwich but the ham was not cured like I was expecting. I wound up pulling it off so I had a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Savino had also recommended a great gelato place in that same neighborhood so we found it and each had a sweet treat.

Piazza della Repubblica in Florence

Afterwards, we walked over to the Accademia Museum to see the Statue of David. This was my third time to see the actual statue but it is still such an example of beauty that words cannot describe. Each muscle, each vein, every detail so perfect. And to think it was made from a scrap piece of marble that Michelangelo asked to have so he could work on the statue. This museum is much smaller so it only took about 30 minutes. Savino had told us about a church near this museum that opened at 4:00. It did not look like much from the outside but the inside was beautiful and there was no cost to enter. The last time I was in Italy, there was a rule that no knees or shoulders should be exposed. There had even been a basket in front of a church with scarves a visitor could use during their visit. This time there were not even signs about this and no basket of scarves. I don’t think people intentionally didn’t follow this rule, they just didn’t know. The last time I was here, photographs in the museums had been prohibited but now people were freely using their cameras throughout both museums.

David

Tiffany hanging with David

Johnnie hanging with David

We only had two full days in Florence so we needed to see as much as possible this evening. We walked around the Duomo, browsed the outdoor market, and then took a bus out to Plaza Michelangelo that overlooks the city.As we returned into town, we decided to have dinner before going to our room. We took a bus and ate at Trattoria San Lorenzo, recommended by an acquaintance who lives in Florence. We enjoyed sitting out on the plaza and enjoying a nice dinner. Eating in Italy is not rushed so waiters do not usually come back and check on you, allowing you time to visit in privacy. It is expected you will let them know when you want the check. In some places we paid inside, others brought you the check. Margherita had advised that it was rude to just come in and sit down. We should wait at the entrance and then ask the host where they would like us to sit. Finally we received our check and headed home for another long day tomorrow. We had to manage the things on our list so a plan was in progress.