An Artsy Exploration

Today we started very early again by walking over to the Uffizi Gallery for a 9:00 tour. Our professor had a really good walking tour guide in his travel book and it really helped me to appreciate each individual work of art in the museum. Seeing the Birth of Venus and the and Allegory of Spring (both by Sandro Botticelli) were so incredible. Understanding the symbolism and the time period the paintings were created gives you an enhanced emotion when you look at the works.  Many of the works by Leonardo Di Vinci were also absolutely beautiful. I can’t even believe I had the opportunity to look at the work of such famous Italian artists. The tour was pretty short and well worth the visit just for the gorgeous appearance of the museum itself. Tip for those who want to go there someday: There’s an awesome view of the Ponte di Vecchio at the end of the last room - just look out of the window!

After the museum the group was ready for some European coffee. I chose a caffe latte which was delicious and very cheap. We then walked over to Santa Croce to see the tombs of famous Italian influences including Galileo and Michael Angelo. Since it was Sunday, the 11:00 mass was going on when we arrived -it was so awesome to see people attending casual mass in a church of that size and importance. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to spend every Sunday in a church like that. I just hope those practicing in their parish don't lose appreciation for its beauty and significance.

Michael Angelo's tomb

Next we walked up to piazza D'Azeglio where we found a quaint playground surrounded by what I would believe to be a suburban area in Florence. In the square many of the pet owners do not keep their dogs on leashes – they are free to run around and play with other people and play with other dogs. They were all just so friendly… is this a “dog” cultural norm in Italy? ha!

After that we walked up towards the Giardino dei Semplici and the University of Florence. We continued to see small squares and interesting buildings. There isn't anything in this city that isn't decorated and elaborate. We even found a carousel in one of the squares near Piazza Signoria. We all wanted to go on but when we got a little closer we realized that the horses were much smaller than USA carousels and we would probably break them! Before going back towards the hotel, we wanted to grab a quick and light lunch (our free group dinner is tonight so we didn’t want to fill up too much) and we stopped at a bakery/caffe that served outdoor lunch. We sat outside in the sun and our view of the Duomo and Florence was so pretty. I had a salad with mixed greens, black olives, walnuts, brie, and croutons with a gorgonzola cheese melted over the top as a dressing. I haven’t been a big fan of the gorgonzola in Italy (because it is really strong) however this was light and very, very delicious. Afterwards some of the girls stopped at a gelato shop to grab some dessert while Lauren and I went to a candy shop with fresh chocolates to buy a few ganaches. We all shared the desserts and while the chocolates were TO DIE FOR – the gelato here still just hasn’t been able to compare to Portofino’s in Roma. On our way back we stopped again at Pizzaz Signoria and saw the courthouse where the orginial David once stood (a replica now stands in its place). Right next to the square we saw a sidewalk chalk artist elaboaratly drawing a recreation of a section of the Allegory of Spring…it was so fabulous that we decided to give him money – his work was just so good we couldn’t help ourselves.