On my second morning in Florence I decided I felt like doing some shopping. There is a large open air market near the Church of San Lorenzo, so I decided to check that out. It had a great selection of Italian leather goods, from jackets to purses and wallets. There was also lots of jewelry and knickknacks. I decided I wanted a smaller, cross body leather purse and a new wallet, so I began checking for these items as I browsed. I was at the market for a good 2 hours, and ended up buying the purse I wanted, a wallet, cashmere lined leather gloves, an a ring. I kind of blew my budget, but hey, when in Rome... Er... Florence.
While I was at the market, it started raining, so I decided it would make a good museum day. I dropped my plunder off at the hostel, then ran out to buy reservation tickets and a quick bite to eat. What I have learned is that it is always worth it to get reservations for sights. You can save yourself hours of waiting in line by simply booking tickets a couple hours in advance.
So, after lunch I went to Accademia, home of David. There are some other minor paintings and sculptures, but the main attraction is Michelangelo's Prisoners and David. I immensely enjoyed both. The Prisoners are a set of unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo. He felt that when he sculpted, he wasn't being creative, but rather exposing the sculpture God had put into each piece of marble. So many people speculate that he decided these sculptures were done as is, still partially trapped in marble.
David was stunning. He doesn't look like he is made of stone; he looks alive, graceful and powerful. I sat for a while and just stared at him, taking it in. The best part is that he was sculpted from a piece of marble that all the other sculptors had said was too poor to use for sculpting. Good job, Buonarroti!
Afterwards, I headed for the Uffuzi Gallery. Once again, I really enjoyed it, although it was a lot to take in. My favorites were the Botticelli paintings, especially the Allegory of Spring and Birth of Venus.
I headed back to the hostel to recharge. While I was hanging out, I met a couple from Seattle who were looking for something to do that night. I told them about the pub recommendation I had received from one of the guys at work. When I told him I would be In Florence, he got very excited. He said he had studied there and gave me the name of a pub to visit, along with the instructions to ask for Massimo or Fabrizio. He also informed me that his photo was hanging up in the bar. So clearly, I had to go.
I invited the couple from Seattle, since drinking alone isn't much fun. They told me they were going out to dinner, and we planned to meet at 11. When I arrived, they were nowhere to be found. I sat down and ordered a drink. I looked for Tony's picture in the collage of polaroids hanging behind the bar, but did not see him. The bartenders seemed to speak little English, and no one else seemed to speak any. I considered asking for the names I was given, but I was too intimidated. They had probably forgotten Tony, or he just wasn't as big a deal to them as he thought. I nursed my drink and watched Italian soccer on tv.
Half an hour had gone by, and my hostel friends still hadn't come. I figured I would get one more drink, then leave. But I couldn't leave without asking about Tony, since I knew he'd ask me about it. So I ordered my second drink from the bartender who seemed to have better English skills. While he was making it, I told him a friend had told me to come and ask for Fabrizio or Massimo. He gave me a funny look, and asked who my friend was. When I told him, his eyes lit up and he cracked a big smile. He pulled me over to a photo; not one of the multitudes of polaroids behind the bar, but a large framed photo in a glass case at the end of the bar. And there was Tony. He told me my second drink was on Tony, and chatted with me about my trip until my friends showed up, 45 minutes after we had planned to meet. We had a few more drinks together, then we strolled home, with me feeling satisfied with my accomplished mission.
While I was at the market, it started raining, so I decided it would make a good museum day. I dropped my plunder off at the hostel, then ran out to buy reservation tickets and a quick bite to eat. What I have learned is that it is always worth it to get reservations for sights. You can save yourself hours of waiting in line by simply booking tickets a couple hours in advance.
So, after lunch I went to Accademia, home of David. There are some other minor paintings and sculptures, but the main attraction is Michelangelo's Prisoners and David. I immensely enjoyed both. The Prisoners are a set of unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo. He felt that when he sculpted, he wasn't being creative, but rather exposing the sculpture God had put into each piece of marble. So many people speculate that he decided these sculptures were done as is, still partially trapped in marble.
David was stunning. He doesn't look like he is made of stone; he looks alive, graceful and powerful. I sat for a while and just stared at him, taking it in. The best part is that he was sculpted from a piece of marble that all the other sculptors had said was too poor to use for sculpting. Good job, Buonarroti!
Afterwards, I headed for the Uffuzi Gallery. Once again, I really enjoyed it, although it was a lot to take in. My favorites were the Botticelli paintings, especially the Allegory of Spring and Birth of Venus.
I headed back to the hostel to recharge. While I was hanging out, I met a couple from Seattle who were looking for something to do that night. I told them about the pub recommendation I had received from one of the guys at work. When I told him I would be In Florence, he got very excited. He said he had studied there and gave me the name of a pub to visit, along with the instructions to ask for Massimo or Fabrizio. He also informed me that his photo was hanging up in the bar. So clearly, I had to go.
I invited the couple from Seattle, since drinking alone isn't much fun. They told me they were going out to dinner, and we planned to meet at 11. When I arrived, they were nowhere to be found. I sat down and ordered a drink. I looked for Tony's picture in the collage of polaroids hanging behind the bar, but did not see him. The bartenders seemed to speak little English, and no one else seemed to speak any. I considered asking for the names I was given, but I was too intimidated. They had probably forgotten Tony, or he just wasn't as big a deal to them as he thought. I nursed my drink and watched Italian soccer on tv.
Half an hour had gone by, and my hostel friends still hadn't come. I figured I would get one more drink, then leave. But I couldn't leave without asking about Tony, since I knew he'd ask me about it. So I ordered my second drink from the bartender who seemed to have better English skills. While he was making it, I told him a friend had told me to come and ask for Fabrizio or Massimo. He gave me a funny look, and asked who my friend was. When I told him, his eyes lit up and he cracked a big smile. He pulled me over to a photo; not one of the multitudes of polaroids behind the bar, but a large framed photo in a glass case at the end of the bar. And there was Tony. He told me my second drink was on Tony, and chatted with me about my trip until my friends showed up, 45 minutes after we had planned to meet. We had a few more drinks together, then we strolled home, with me feeling satisfied with my accomplished mission.
That is so crazy! 'It's a small world, after all' is beginning to loop in my head...
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