Florence

Florence was a welcome change from Rome. We were actually COLD the first night at dinner (ok, Ashlyn and I were cold.) There was also a much slower pace.

Cold in Florence

The two main sites in Florence have reservation systems. Without reservations you can wait in line, but a limited number of people are allowed inside at a time. I did not want to wait in line with a two year old, so we made the reservations. The first morning, we had reservations at the Accademia at 9:30. When we walked up a bit before 9, there was a sign posted that the gallery would not open until 10:20 due to a staff meeting. I was a bit irritated that we had reservations, what do you mean you aren’t open? We waited until the gallery opened, and then waited a bit longer as they let everyone in who had reservations before 9:30. It was a bit chaotic, but seeing David(Michelangelo, I swear we saw other people’s artwork, but his sticks out in my mind) was so worth it. Many times, when I see art that I’ve studied or seen in books or online, I’m almost a bit disappointed that, hey, it looks just like it did in the book. David was not like this. Much more moving and awesome. Allen says this was the highlight of his trip. I don’t know if I can pick one thing, but it was definitely one of the top sights.

In front of the Duomo cathedral

Since seeing David took up more of our time than anticipated, we ended up taking it easy. After lunch (at Za Za’s, so yummy) a bit of shopping, and a nap, we just walked around Florence a bit that evening.

Ok, in this one you can actually see part of the dome

The next morning, we again had reservations, this time at 8:30 at the Uffizi Gallery. And, again, the sign on the door said they would not open until 10:30. We found out later that this was a museum workers strike. We tried a different museum down the road, but they weren’t opening until 10:30 also. Same thing. So, we walked around a bit, considered touring the Pitti Palace, and headed back to the Uffizi, where there was now a HUGE line where you are to pick up your reserved tickets. I got in line, but Allen decided to head towards the front of the line, as in, in front of everyone who had later reservations. And, again, they let people in according to their reservation time. It was really nuts, though, with people rushing the door. The Uffizi had so many things in it. Of course, the highlight for us was Venus.

We had asked for a late checkout that morning, but with the museum opening late, we were much later than the time we had agreed upon. Fortunately, the lady was very gracious, and didn’t mind at all that it took awhile. When we told her about the museum workers’ strike, she said something about people in Italy not wanting to work very much.

Enjoying gelato

I cannot talk about our next destination without first mentioning the gelato. We have an Italian ice place in town, they are really all over in the other places we have visited so far. But, they do not compare to actual Italian gelato. We went to a couple of different places in Rome, where it was wonderful. But, in Florence, it was beyond delicious. It would be worth a trip to Florence, just to have the gelato. Oh, and see David while you are there.