It's amazing how seventy-six steps can determine how many times you leave your apartment in the course of a day. A few days ago we made four trips down and up the stairs. By yesterday, we were planning our activities to avoid unnecessary steps. Our primary outing took much of the day and brought us to the most famous of the many art galleries in Florence.
The Uffizi Gallery fronts the Arno River and is just around the corner from our apartment. It is filled with large and astonishingly beautiful paintings and sculptures. We were especially impressed with the collection of paintings by Sala de Botticelli (just one room has more than forty of his paintings, including The Birth of Venus!) There are excellent examples from Michelangelo and Leondardo daVinci, as well. The Uffizi is undergoing a major reconstruction, so unfortunately many of the rooms were inaccessible during our visit. Photos are not allowed, except on the upper level if the camera is pointed outdoors at the stunning view of hte Arno River and Ponte Vecchio Bridge.
One of the rather curious aspects of the Uffizi Gallery is how the central courtyard (open to the public) is filled with street artists drawing characatures of tourists. There are also lots of peddlers selling cheap reproductions of pretty bad art. All in the shadow of one of the greatest collections of art in the world! At the entrance of the courtyard is a full-size reproduction of Michelangelo's David. The real thing once stood there, among other massive, important sculptures, but was transported over a hundred years ago to a gallery specially constructed to house it. We walked to the Accademia gallery and viewed the original, seventeen foot-tall statue atop a lofty base. It really is a wonder, and it was a privilege to visit both the Uffizi and the Accadamia.
We were hot and tired by the time we returned to our temporary home in Florence. We rested through the late afternoon and only left one more time for dinner. I Che ch' chi' is a small, family-owned restaurant right in our neighborhood. On the way, we encountered a sizeable parade of Florentines dressed in Medieval garb. They were leading the way from a nearby piazza where some sort of sporting event had just taken place. We went on to have a particularly delicious Tuscan meal followed by a final visit to Vivoli for gelato. I allowed myself an extra scoop as a Father's Day gift to myself. We climbed the stairs for the last time and I was happy to receive email messages from both my kids and my Dad. A very good day!
The Uffizi Gallery fronts the Arno River and is just around the corner from our apartment. It is filled with large and astonishingly beautiful paintings and sculptures. We were especially impressed with the collection of paintings by Sala de Botticelli (just one room has more than forty of his paintings, including The Birth of Venus!) There are excellent examples from Michelangelo and Leondardo daVinci, as well. The Uffizi is undergoing a major reconstruction, so unfortunately many of the rooms were inaccessible during our visit. Photos are not allowed, except on the upper level if the camera is pointed outdoors at the stunning view of hte Arno River and Ponte Vecchio Bridge.
One of the rather curious aspects of the Uffizi Gallery is how the central courtyard (open to the public) is filled with street artists drawing characatures of tourists. There are also lots of peddlers selling cheap reproductions of pretty bad art. All in the shadow of one of the greatest collections of art in the world! At the entrance of the courtyard is a full-size reproduction of Michelangelo's David. The real thing once stood there, among other massive, important sculptures, but was transported over a hundred years ago to a gallery specially constructed to house it. We walked to the Accademia gallery and viewed the original, seventeen foot-tall statue atop a lofty base. It really is a wonder, and it was a privilege to visit both the Uffizi and the Accadamia.
We were hot and tired by the time we returned to our temporary home in Florence. We rested through the late afternoon and only left one more time for dinner. I Che ch' chi' is a small, family-owned restaurant right in our neighborhood. On the way, we encountered a sizeable parade of Florentines dressed in Medieval garb. They were leading the way from a nearby piazza where some sort of sporting event had just taken place. We went on to have a particularly delicious Tuscan meal followed by a final visit to Vivoli for gelato. I allowed myself an extra scoop as a Father's Day gift to myself. We climbed the stairs for the last time and I was happy to receive email messages from both my kids and my Dad. A very good day!