Today was mostly about hiking around Florence. We went to the Bargello, Piazzale Michelangelo, and the Pitti Palace & Bobili Gardens.
Bargello Museum -
The Bargello started out as a prison and is now a sculpture museum. It had many of Donatello's sculptures including several variations on David. I took a handful of photos, but was getting a bit Renaissance Art'ed out by this point. The Bargello is definitely worth going to, don't let my lack of photos deter you. It's an overlooked gem in a city of amazing museums.
I took a picture of these dolphins because, well Dan's a submariner, and you know, dolphins. Woo. They were sculpted in the 18th century.
This concludes the Bargello portion of our adventure.
A collection of funny grafittied street signs:
We got sandwiches at All'Antico Viniao, which is supposed to be the best sandwich shop in Florence, and hiked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. These are some silly signs we saw on the way.
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The hike up to the Piazzale was a bit unpleasant. As usual, Dan grumbled a bit. I took some photos and we sat and ate our sandwiches. I will say, the sandwiches were quite tasty.
The lovely view of Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo.
Alright, remember when we climbed the dome of Il Duomo? Well here's the opposite view comparison (Il Duomo view on the left and the Piazzale Michelangelo view on the right):
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This is the San Miniato al Monte, which we found as part of a geocahe adventure (we found it, in case you are wondering). It's a beautiful little church with a cemetery behind it. The cemetery has some fascinating memorials.
The lovely view from the San Miniato al Monte church. That's Dan sitting on the wall.
Look! It's us! In FLORENCE!
This concludes the Piazzale Michelangelo portion of our adventure.
Pitti Palace and Bobili Gardens -
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We walked from the San Miniato al Monte church to the Pitti Palace (after finding my geocache of course). We had been doing quite a bit of walking today an Dan's feet were starting to hurt him.
We went through a costume exhibit at the palace which was a bit disappointing, but it was cool to see some of the Medici clothing. I wanted to continue on into the gardens, but Dan was done. So he sat and had coffee while I explored the gardens.
This is some more amusing graffiti we saw on the way to the Pitti Palace (left).
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This is a view looking out from the palace into one of the main avenues of the gardens (above).
This is a view looking back down the same avenue as above, but toward the palace (left). It's another Same but Opposite View! Weeeeeee! |
The gardens were massive, and I only explored them a little bit (partially because they were down a massive hill and I didn't want to have to climb back up it). I also accidentally wandered into a Natural History Museum or something and saw a mineral and gem display. (It was off to the side of a courtyard).
This concludes the Pitti Palace and Bobili Gardens portion of our adventure.
Wandering around the city at night -
The Palazzio Vacchio lit up at night with the Christmas decorations lit as well.
The boar is the symbol of Florence. Apparently you're supposed to put a coin in the boar's mouth and make a wish. If it falls into the grate, your wish comes true. At least this is what it looked like from the various people doing it repeatedly and being excited when it fell in the grate.
This more or less concludes our Florence adventure. We tried to get all four artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Leonardo was elusive.
Today's Count:
- 1 Museum
- 1 Climb
- 2 Same but Opposite Views
- 0 artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Trip Count:
- 7 Musuems
- 3 Climbs
- 5 Same but Opposite Views
- 3 artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, though we were in the vicinity of Leonardo's work, so maybe we got all 4.
After 3 solid days of Renaissance overload I have come to the conclusion that none of the Renaissance Masters ever saw an actual naked woman. None of the breasts are right. They're just hemispheres attached to a torso. Also why is it that the nude males, whether painted or sculpted, get intricate detail applied to their pubic hair and genitals and the women get vague nothingness? I'm pretty sure it's because all the artists dudes never saw a naked woman.
