Florence - Art Tourists!

  

  So many brilliant sites to see and so little time. This is my second time visiting this amazing historic city driven by the character of an older world, a world I long to go back in time to be a part of. Roughly 16 million people flood into Florence each year to take in the masterminds that molded this culture. Charlie and I are here at the end of tourist season and I highly reccomend planning a trip to this fabled country in October. The weather is wonderful, mid 70’s, which makes walking around all day quite a bit more comfortable. The lines, to enter the museums, are about 30 to 60 minutes if you didn’t book your tickets in advance, which in reality isn’t too bad considering the amount of people walking around. I couldn’t imagine what the waits would be like in the height of the season. Although I chose to hang out in the queues, if you buy the tickets online a couple of days prior you can pick which time you enter for only a minimal up charge on the ticket. (http://www.florence-museum-tickets.com/) A guided tour will also allow you to skip the lines and provide more information about what you are looking at but that will run you roughly 3 to 4 times the entry price. Not worth it in my mind as if you see a piece that strikes your fancy information is provided.

  We rolled in on an early train in order to maximize our day. The walk through the city center reminded me of a younger me, passing the Duomo, the squares, the Uffizi and making our way to the furthest point in order to take our time on the return. We followed suit with the people around us and snuck in a selfie before meandering across Ponte Vecchio, Florences oldest bridge, which spans across the Arno River. Historically this bridge has always been a home of shops and today it is no different with its constant stream of glittering store fronts filled to the brim with Fine jewelry and high class watches. If you only have a short time here this is a great route to maximize your time enroute to Piazzale Michelangelo, which is one of the best panoramas of the city. If you don’t mind putting in some work then getting up the hill will pay off with a view of the city, the palace walls and the surrounding hills. One of the several replicas of the David caste in bronze as well as a nice spot to eat and drink can also be found at the top. We pumped the breaks and took our time walking through the gardens on our way back to stand in line at the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi is a must see as it has a massive collection of paintings and sculptures with highlights being its collection of Botticelli’s, a Renaissance Painter, The “Doni Tondo”, by Michelangelo and the “Ognissanti Madonna” by Giotto. Charlie has a difficult time treating himself so we spent the remainder of our day, by my insistence, roaming around in search for the perfect leather journal, which we wouldn’t find until the next morning.

  We woke as early as one should on vacation, to my epic voice singing “Happy Birthday” to Charlie. We had hopes of getting to the Galleria dell’Accademia before the line to see the “David” became unbearable. The Museum opens at 815 and we were there by 845, which ended up being pretty perfect timing. I mean the line was only half way down the street, and the day prior it was all the way down the street and around the corner. Winning! This small crowd could have been caused by the overcast sky that was sending us a light sprinkle. Inside the museum, it is pretty simple with a few dozen paintings, a musical instrument collection, an amazing collection of plaster studies, and the man of the hour the “David”. His size, delicate attention to detail and impressive presence makes the wait to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece worth every second. This was also the place that Charlie found his one of a kind leather journal, with a portion of Botticelli’s “Primavera” hand tooled into the cover.

  463 steps to the top of the Duomo made Charlie’s 40th Birthday a day to challenge the idea that he is getting old. The further one ascends the spinning staircases of this old lady the narrower and narrower the walls creep in on you. The walk continues winding until you reach the fresco level and get to step out of the concrete walls and into the dome. The walkway encased in a plastic barrier is so far above reality that the whole situation causes an eerie feeling to scratch at your back. You can almost touch the fresco and the people below seem no bigger than ants. I may be a little scared of falling, not to be confused with a fear of heights, and my mind had a whole scenario where the small walkway made of ancient concrete just crumbled, sending me plummeting to my death upon the altar. A little dramatic I know but if you were there you would know.... From there you reenter the wall and make your way up the arch of the Duomo to the Lantern (the cap piece of the dome). By the time we stepped out into the fresh air the people around us were huffing and puffing as if they just summited Everest. Public Announcement!! If you have heart issues I strongly urge you to enjoy this epic site from the ground level. If you are healthy for moderate exercise, then stepping out onto the Lantern, adorned with a giant bronze ball, is exhilarating. The mix of feelings I had were overwhelming. It was beautiful yet that eerie feeling came calling, causing my mind to wonder to the feeling that a solid gust of wind would send me flying. After snapping a few shots and taking a loop around the top I decided it was time to get off this ride and head back down. Luckily, Charlie was also glad to head back to the earths surface. We spent a couple hours taking in all the information and artifacts the Museo del Duomo had to offer. Piazza del Duomo was the finale of site seeing for us in Florence. We retired the tourist gear and decided a perfect end to all this trekking would be a proper meal of meat. We gorged on a delicious local grass fed steak from Trattoria dall’Oste Centro-Chianineria. The yelp reviews did not lie this place had amazing service, atmosphere and food that gives Texas a run for her money.