What a day we had, full of culture, and I am not talking about yogurt. The weather finally cooled to welcomed 82 degrees. Plus the wind was blowing, making it quite comfortable. We started the morning at Academia. It is a very unassuming, unimpressive building from the outside. Unless you count the tourists and the long lines going in the doors. We got tickets through a local service who also provided a tour guide. We had to do this because tickets to the Academia and Uffizi fill up weeks in advance. Our guide took a group of us in. We wore ear pieces hooked up to a small radio which received the signal from the tour guides mic.
Our tour guide was wonderful, knowledgeable, and very passionate about the works of Michelangelo. We were first shown some of the art in the museum. Then you turn a corner and there is David in all his splendor. It is an amazing piece of marble. It is even more impressive once you learn a few things and details about it. You are also treated to a variety of slabs started by Michelangelo, but never finished. It is quite an interesting story. You finish the tour by walking through a room filled with various busts and statues done by various Florentine Artists. Of course they have a large gift shop for you to walk through before you exit the building.
There was a grocery store next to Academia. We grabbed sandwiches and snacks. The park close by provided benches for a nice picnic. Other than the pigeons clamoring for your crumbs. The next few hours we walked around the local markets and perusing the items being sold by street vendors. It is pretty much a maze of tent like stalls. The same 5 stalls are repeated, meaning they all pretty much sell the same thing. Things like scarves, t shirts, leather goods, hats, and my favorite the guys selling knock off purses. Only to be seen by the cops selling knock off stuff and run with their stuff to the next location.
The piazza behind the Uffizi, has a nice courtyard and steps to sit on. We were treated to a street performer who tormented passer by's. He would walk up behind people scaring them or my favorite, fall down right in front of an unsuspecting victim. Similar to Academia, we met our tour guide out front and got our radios.
There is quite a security brigrade to enter the gallery. Then, you have a 3 story climb to get to the correct floor. The guide gave us all the background on the gallery and how it came to be. Then we were led through various rooms displaying wonderful pieces of art. Now I must say I have a long line of painters and artists in my family. Apparently the art appreciation gene or even the ability to see symbolism in art, skipped me completely. My wife on the other hand can hold her own. It was nice having the guide for his ability to explain these things to me. It was very cool to see The Birth of Venus, the most famous painting in the place. Our guide spent about an hour taking us through. He explained you could not possibly see all the art in such a short time, and to see it all in a day would be overwhelming.
My dad found a great outdoor cafe just north of our hotel where we could eat dinner. The wine was excellent and the staff very friendly. Then the highlight, Oreo Gelato. I was probably the best gelato I have ever had. Beth and Julie finally got some chocolate chip mint gelato. My dad gave into peer pressure and then got some as well.
On Sunday we decided to head out of town. We got tickets very cheap to take the train to two cities just outside of Florence. Our first stop, Pisa. We did the typical tourist thing and saw the leaning tower. It is quite a site, especially with the leaning duomo right next to it. We got on a bus and headed back to the train station. I have never been on a bus with the driver driving it like a taxi cab. It was a roller coaster ride.
The ride to Lucca was short and beautiful. Lucca is still completely surrounded by walls. You enter through one of the main gates. Lucca is a sleepy town, quiet and not full of tourists. The air is fresh and the streets clean. We found the closest piazza which had the start of the largest antique fair in Italy. It takes place every month here and wanders for many streets. We wander through and made our way to the old roman theater. It is now just a circlular piazza with a bunch of apartments around it. We sat at a cafe and had a drink pondering our day away from Florence. We hustled back to the train station to catch the train back to Florence. Little did we realize everyone coming back from a day at the beach would be on this train. We had to stand for the first couple stops. The view was wonderful though, winding through the hills of Tuscany while the sun was going down. We grabbed dinner right when we got back and then headed to bed.
Today was another travel day. We left Florence and head to Venice. The train ride is 3 hours on the high speed train. It makes minimal stops. We had a group of 4 seats with a table between us. The scenery was great through Tuscany and into northern Italy. I just wish the floor wouldn't have been caked with the dried pop of an early rider. The train stops on the Venice Mainland then heads on the bridge over to the islands. Stepping out of the train station, you see the buildings and the water. It is beautiful and possibly the coolest thing I have seen in Italy.
We went to the taxi stand to catch a taxi to the stop by our hotel. You wait on this platform for the vaparetto (water taxi) to pick you up. Beth and I got on and they closed the gate behind us, leaving Harry and Julie on the platform. They luckily got on the next taxi and weren't far behind. We crossed over the brigde on found our hotel. It is right on the canal. It is old school Italy. There is no elevator and decor matches the early 1900's.
Venice is muggy, obviously because of the water. We spent most of the afternoon walking around and getting our bearings. We walked through St. Mark's Square. I thought after being in Florence, I had seen the largest concentration of tourists. I was wrong, Venice is filled with tourists in a much smaller space. Tomorrow we are going to Murano Island to see where they make Venetian Glass.
Hope everyone is doing well.
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