Frolicking in Florence: Day 3

November 29th

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.

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):

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 - 

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).

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.

Final Thought:

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.

Frolicking in Florence: Day 2

November 28th

Today we went to L'Accademia, the Medici Chapel, and the Palazzo Vecchio.


L'Accademia - 

We got up early to get over the the L'Accademia to see Michelango's David.  Even though it's not the high tourist season, the museum was already getting busy by the time we got there.

We're starting with David's butt, because I know you always see the front and are really curious what he has packing back there.

I wish I had taken a photo of a gentleman who had the most amazing expression of awe on his face while looking at David.  I think I may remember that more than the statue.

The museum had other sculptures and a lot of religious art.  Dan and I started trying to figure out who all the saints depicted were.  There are some random saints out there.

This concludes the L'Accademia portion of our adventure.

The Medici Chapel - 

Photos were not allowed in the Medici Chapel, so this is going to be short.

This is the Medici Chapel courtyard!  And pretty much the only thing I was allowed to take a photo of.  Bask in the glory of the orange tree. Bask! We toured the crypt and saw Donatello's tomb (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) and did a audio/video tour of the chapel.  The tour was free with our ticket and was done on an ipad.  It was cool.  This brought the number of artists who are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles up to three! The chapel was supposed to have some amazing front piece.  A contest was held and Michelangelo's design won.  He supposedly fallen in love with the project and thought it would be his greatest masterpiece.  The project was cancelled (below).

This concludes the Medici Chapel portion of our adventure.

We walked past the Il Duomo on our way to the Palazzo Vecchio. So here's another attempt at a photo of it from the outside up close. 

Palazzo Vecchio -

The Palazzo Vecchio was built in the late 13th/early 14th century.  It housed the the Medici family until they moved to the Pitti Palace.  It is now the town hall in Florence.

This is a map of the whole building, or at least the parts tourists can get to.

Outside view of the Palazzo Vecchio, home of the Medicis and the original site of the David (left). I don't know what was happening in this painting, but it's fabulous (right).

Something big and fancy was happening in the main room of the Palazzo Vecchio, so we couldn't wander around too much.  This is a view from the balcony (above).  They believe that there is a hidden da Vinci behind one of these massive wall frescoes.

Remember the tower in the photo of the Palazzo Vecchio from the square (a few photos ago)?  Yeah, I made Dan climb it.  He grumbled a bit.  But the view was great.

Look!  It's that two views of the same space thing again!  The left one is from yesterday (the top of Il Duomo's dome) and the right one is from today (the top of Palazzo Vecchio's tower).

And here's us!  Dan asked this nice man to take our photo and then pretty much everyone else asked him to take their photos too.

This concludes the Palazzo Vecchio portion of our adventure for today.

Random Photos -

Because who doesn't store their shoes and cologne on pink metal rams?

I am going to end day 2 with this wall of glass.  I thought it was pretty.  I hope you do too.

Today's Count:

• 3 Museums
• 1 Climb
• 1 Same but Opposite View
• 1, maybe 2, artists who are also a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Frolicking in Florence: Day 1

November 26th-27th

While all you American types were celebrating Thanksgiving, Dan and I went on an Adventure up to Florence.  We drove up Wednesday after Dan got home from work, so nothing really exciting happened on the real first day.  We are therefore skipping to the first day of adventuring.

In which we visit the Uffizi Gallery, climb Il Duomo, and check out the Galileo Science Museum.

The Uffizi Gallery - 


The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most, if not the most, popular art gallery in Florence.  During high tourist season you may have to wait hours to get into the museum.  We were not in high tourist season, but we purchased tickets in advance just to be safe.

I don't know who this dude is, but look at his collar.  That's carved marble.  LOOK AT IT.  It's amazing (left). This is one of the hallways of the gallery.  Each ceiling was intricately painted and the hall is lined with portraits and statues (right).

This is a painting of the Seven Virtues by Piero del Pollaiolo (except for Fortitude who was painted by Botticelli).  From left to right they are Fortitude, Temperance, Faith, Charity, Hope, Justice, and Prudence. 

Botticelli's Birth of Venus.  Fun fact, the title Birth of Venus was only given to the painting in the 19th century.  Before then it was generally referred to as Venus Anadyomene.  It is a large painting measuring 5'8" x 9'2".  To give you an idea, I am 5'9".

This is a relief of the Birth of Venus.  It is for the visually impaired.  This way they can also appreciate great works of art.  Or feel up Venus, whatever floats your boat.

I also don't know who this guy is, but I had never seen sculptures use different colors of marble to represent color before.  I think it's pretty cool.

This is a view of the Arno River from the Uffizi.  It is also a view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

This is a rare example of Michelangelo's painting skills.  It is called the Doni Tondo.  Many people like to analyze it given the unusual positioning of the main characters as well as the naked people in the background.  Fun fact, Michelangelo's full name is Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarotti Simoni.  I can see why he just went by Michelangelo.  

This painting brings our artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles list up to one. 

Okay, so this room I dubbed the Room of Terror because it is full of statues who look like they are being attacked or running in fear.  Later, when I found the placard for the room, it turns out I wasn't wrong.  They are all statues depicting the deaths of Niobe's children.  She was too boastful to Leto so Leto decided to have all of Niobe's children murdered.  Lovely, no? It also had some amazing ceiling artwork (above).

Super artistic hipster pigeon photo with blurred Italian flag in the background!  Woo (left)! So this lady is Isabelle Brandt, Peter Paul Rubens's first wife (it was also painted by Rubens (right)).  What I see is a lady feeling herself up while staring you down.  It made me uncomfortable, and I feel the need to share my discomfort.  You can always look back at the pigeon if it gets too intense.

Because who doesn't want Medusa's severed head painted on their shield?  I bet you didn't know Caravaggio painted on shields now did you?

So this is a bit cheating, but we also saw Raphael's (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) Madonna of the Goldfinch, but I failed to take a picture of it.  However, this does bring our artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles list up to two.  We would have also gotten Leonardo (Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci), but his gallery at the Uffizi was under construction/restoration.

This concludes the Uffizi portion of our adventure.

Intermission, in which we find lunch - 

This is not where we had lunch, but the meat and cheese shop across from where we had lunch.

Many of the alleyways were decorated for Christmas, making the streets of Florence extra beautiful.  This is a photo of one of the major pedestrian walkways that connects the Palazzo Vecchio (which is next to the Uffizi) with Il Duomo.

Il Duomo - 

Il Duomo, also known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower) was constructed in the 13th century, but its claim to fame is the dome added by Brunelleschi in the 15th century.  Side note, any cathedral in Italy is a "duomo."  I'm not quite sure why the duomo in Florence became known as Il Duomo.

This is a view looking up into the elaborately painted inside of the dome.  It depicts the Last Judgement.  The bottom has quite graphic imagery of Hell.  

See those people down there, that is where I took the previous photo.  This is from the first viewing balcony when you climb the dome.  I made Dan climb the dome.  He was a bit grumbly about it. There is an art term for when you have two images from opposite vantage points of the same thing.  I cannot remember what it is, but this image and the one above are an example of it.  If you know what it is, tell me.  I'm looking at you dad. It turns out Florence is well suited to this kind of thing.

One of many photos I took atop the dome. From here you can see the Palazzo Vecchio and its tower to the right and across in the greenery on toward the left-hand-side is a little whitish strip.  This is the Piazzale Michelangelo.  We will get to both of these things later.

Dan outside Il Duomo.  It is very large and in the middle of a bunch of buildings.  It is a bit difficult without wide-angle lenses to get a full picture of it.

This is Il Duomo's Baptistery ceiling.  I was told my father-in-law thinks the Baptisry doors are the most amazing thing he's ever seen.  I think this ceiling, which is all a giant mosaic is pretty impressive.  It depicts the Last Judgment as well as various scenes from the Bible.

This concludes the Il Duomo portion of our adventure.

The Galileo Science Museum -

The Galileo Science Museum is a collection of scientific artifacts from the 15th and 16th centuries.  it is full of wondrous brass doodads that I would love to just have displayed in my house.  People would come to visit and say "that's an amazing doodad, what's it do?"  and I would respond "I don't know, but look how pretty and shiny it is!"

Anyway, the museum is really cool. They have a virtual tour of I think just about everything that is physically in the museum that you can check out here. You should definitely check it out sometime. This amazing doodad to the left is Antonio Santucci's Armillary Sphere.  It was built in the late 16th century.  An armillary sphere is a model of objects in the sky.  Now you know,

The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Galileo Galilei (above). For some of you out there, your lives are now complete.  You have officially been given the finger by one of the most important scientists in western history.  Yes, that is Galileo's middle finger (right).  The museum had some other bits of his, which was a bit odd really.

These are Case del Fulmine, or Thunder Houses.  They are models to demonstrate how a properly grounded lightning rod protects a house.  If it is not properly grounded the model house explodes open.  I'm not sure why I am so amused by them, but I do know that I like saying "Case del Fulmine."

This concludes the Galileo Science Museum portion of our adventure.  You should really check out their virtual museum.  Galileo Science Museum.

We ended our day with a walk along the Ponte Vecchio, which is where all the gold and jewelry merchants are.  The bridge glows from the lights from their shops.  This is a view of the Arno river looking back along towards the Uffizi.  Remember that two views thing I mentioned earlier?  Here it is again.  I've added the previous photo from the Uffizi for easy viewing:

A view from the Uffizi looking at the Ponte Vecchio (the center opening of the bridge is where the following photo was taken).

A view from the Ponte Vecchio looking at the Uffizi (the lit window in upper-left-hand side is where the previous photo was taken).

Today's count:

• 3 Museums 
• 1 Climb 
• 2 Same but Opposite Views 
• 2, almost 3, Artists who are also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles