Duomo
Ponte Vecchio
DavidDay 27 – Florence, Italy
Up early and walked to the Ufizzi Gallery for a tour of Renaissance art. We stopped in a square right outside of the museum to see all the statues that are out in the open. We had a local tour guide through the museum and saw quite a few works of art. Having someone to explain about the painter and the subject themselves make viewing them much more interesting. Most of the subjects are religious subjects and she explained the evolution of painting and how they changed with time and the thinking of the time. We also saw paintings that were basically done by two artists, the teacher and pupil. One of those paintings the pupil was Da Vinci and you could see how his talent was above and beyond that of his teacher. After that painting was completed, the teacher no longer painted again as he said his time was over and it was his pupil’s time.
We had the remaining part of the day free. Paul and I wanted to walk over the Ponte Vecchio bridge, a neat little bridge with jewelry stores on both sides of the road running the entire length of the bridge, and on to a park to have lunch. We stopped at a gelateria and grabbed a couple of sandwiches and drinks and hiked on. About halfway there, we decided it was taking longer than we had thought and sat down on some shaded steps to eat our lunch. After checking our guidebook for the hours at the Duomo we headed back into town instead of going on to the part as we wanted to see the church.
Got in line for the Duomo which was long but they let people in in groups. This church, which was Protestant, wasn’t as ornate as the many Catholic churches we had been in. It has one of the longest and highest naves in Europe and had several beautiful chapels with lovely stained glass windows in them. After the church we did a little shopping, leather is big in Florence and so are illegal merchants who lay out their goods on big sheets and when the cops head their way they gather the four corners, throw it all on their backs and run. The law here is if you purchase illegal merchandise you are penalized with a very heavy fine. The guys selling the stuff always run so they don’t usually get caught but the unsuspecting tourist may have to pay some big bucks if they are caught with their illegal purchases. We got some gelato and then headed back to the hotel for a short rest before dinner.
We met up with Barbara, Bruce and Jeff and went over to Za Za’s for dinner. We had hoped to sit outside but we evidently needed a reservation to do that so we headed inside which was kind of dark, decorated with lots of bottles of chianti and candles. We had a great meal, Paul and I have discovered we love gnocchi, a few glasses of wine and nice company.
Back to our room and to bed as we have an early morning and a tough day tomorrow. They have been warning us since the beginning of the trip that Rome is our hardest days due to a lot of walking and warm temperatures.
Up early and walked to the Ufizzi Gallery for a tour of Renaissance art. We stopped in a square right outside of the museum to see all the statues that are out in the open. We had a local tour guide through the museum and saw quite a few works of art. Having someone to explain about the painter and the subject themselves make viewing them much more interesting. Most of the subjects are religious subjects and she explained the evolution of painting and how they changed with time and the thinking of the time. We also saw paintings that were basically done by two artists, the teacher and pupil. One of those paintings the pupil was Da Vinci and you could see how his talent was above and beyond that of his teacher. After that painting was completed, the teacher no longer painted again as he said his time was over and it was his pupil’s time.
We had the remaining part of the day free. Paul and I wanted to walk over the Ponte Vecchio bridge, a neat little bridge with jewelry stores on both sides of the road running the entire length of the bridge, and on to a park to have lunch. We stopped at a gelateria and grabbed a couple of sandwiches and drinks and hiked on. About halfway there, we decided it was taking longer than we had thought and sat down on some shaded steps to eat our lunch. After checking our guidebook for the hours at the Duomo we headed back into town instead of going on to the part as we wanted to see the church.
Got in line for the Duomo which was long but they let people in in groups. This church, which was Protestant, wasn’t as ornate as the many Catholic churches we had been in. It has one of the longest and highest naves in Europe and had several beautiful chapels with lovely stained glass windows in them. After the church we did a little shopping, leather is big in Florence and so are illegal merchants who lay out their goods on big sheets and when the cops head their way they gather the four corners, throw it all on their backs and run. The law here is if you purchase illegal merchandise you are penalized with a very heavy fine. The guys selling the stuff always run so they don’t usually get caught but the unsuspecting tourist may have to pay some big bucks if they are caught with their illegal purchases. We got some gelato and then headed back to the hotel for a short rest before dinner.
We met up with Barbara, Bruce and Jeff and went over to Za Za’s for dinner. We had hoped to sit outside but we evidently needed a reservation to do that so we headed inside which was kind of dark, decorated with lots of bottles of chianti and candles. We had a great meal, Paul and I have discovered we love gnocchi, a few glasses of wine and nice company.
Back to our room and to bed as we have an early morning and a tough day tomorrow. They have been warning us since the beginning of the trip that Rome is our hardest days due to a lot of walking and warm temperatures.
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