It’s 4 pm as I write the first part of this entry. Let’s start with the end. It’s raining. I may be exaggerating a bit, but there have not been many days in Italy that it has not rained. I am sick of the rain. Today, it really got us. We had just left the Duomo and the Chiesa Santa Maria del Fiori, and we were wondering what we should do next. Then it poured. My backpack was soaked, as were many of the things in it. Jeremy didn’t have an umbrella, so he was very wet as well by the time we stumbled back into the room. I had an umbrella, but it just didn’t seem to do much to keep the rain away from my pants or my socks and shoes.
I hope it stops raining. We had plans to see a concert in the Piazza della Signoria at 11. But I won’t be there if the rain doesn’t let up.
Now, I guess we can go back to the beginning. We had reserved tickets this morning to see the Galleria dell’Academia. Michelangelo’s David is on display in this smaller museum. My limited art knowledge does nothing to hamper my appreciation of this master’s work, and I was stocked to see one of his most famous sculptures.
When we arrived at 8:30, there was absolutely no line, so we saw no reason to pick up the reserved tickets, which would have cost each of us an additional 4 Euros. We walked into the building and decided to head straight to the David. The sculpture is brilliant. Michelangelo depicted David following his defeat of Goliath, but it does not show the standard scene of David stepping on top of Goliath’s head. Instead, the viewer is unsure of exactly when the scene takes place. But the sculpture itself is the best part. It looks so real. All parts of the body (torso, legs, thighs, arms, and chest) look absolutely real. It is absolutely amazing.
After walking through the rest of the gallery, which was okay, but not great, we stopped for another 5 minutes to look at the David one last time.
Also in the museum were 4 of Michelangelo’s incomplete sculptures. This was really cool to see. In these works, you could almost imagine what Michelangelo saw in the marble before he was finished. I cannot begin to understand how he could look at a block of marble and see the finished work, but these helped.
Following this, we had ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s and walked through the Piazza della Repubblica and the Signoria before visiting the Palazza Vechio. We went on a free tour of the Medici palace. Even if many of the lavish items have been removed, it was still incredibly to see the grand hallways, bedrooms, secret passageways, and painted ceilings that the rich family called home.
Afterwards, we checked out the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that, over time, was turned into a bustling marketplace. The vendors, because they were not allowed to sell items on the bridge, built stalls that hung out over the river. Now, the shops all seem to be occupied by expensive jewelry dealers, but one could imagine a time when butchers and other vendors occupied them.
Our last event before the rain was to visit the Duomo and the Chiesa Santa Maria del Fiori. The church was neat, as was the Duomo, but I had expected more. To climb up into the copula would have cost an additional 8 Euros, and we really didn’t think that it would be worth it. The dome was painted and it is considered one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Florence…but…well…I was in the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, and this just didn’t merit the extra cost for the ascent (inside) to the top.
I am finished writing for the moment. It’s 4:30 now, and I am not sure what tonight will bring. But I will know later.
Here is a recap of the rest of this miserable night. I slept for 2 hours. I woke up at 7, we went in search of a pizza place in the rain. Florence is expensive. I am honestly getting kind of tired of pizza, but it is the only filling meal that you can get for less than 15 Euros. This is getting ridiculous. Anyhow, we couldn’t find one at first, but we eventually stumbled upon a place, ordered our food, and walked back to the room to watch the final two episodes of Dexter. The season finale was startling and disappointing. Jeremy was particularly upset. We went to bed at 11. I did want to see the concert at 11, but not in the rain.
Happy New Year.
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