Florence

After two (three?) nights in Siena we had a one hour long train ride to Florence. We liked Florence, but did not love it. If we had more money and time it might have been more fun. Nevertheless, we felt obligated to stop through to see the heart of Tuscany and the home of the Renaissance.

One evening, early into our time in Florence, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio to get dinner. As Danielle was taking pictures of the fashion of various Europeans (pants in particular) we actually bumped into a couple of colleagues from Seattle. It was weird to be half-way across the world and run into someone you normally work with randomly. After we got over the initial shock of seeing them we learned that they had basically just gotten off of the plane and were planning on vacationing in Italy for 4 days. They were traveling with their family so we did not spend much time with them.

After stewing on the weirdness of seeing people from Seattle, we walked to the main plaza, Piazza Vecchio (the previous site of Michalangelo's David prior to its placement in the Accademia) to see what was happening. Surrounding the piazza are a number of original statues including this one illustrating Perseus's killing of Medusa. Danielle attracted the attention of the guard enforcing the "do not touch" policy in the plaza when we tried to take a picture for Reanne and Cassie (even though she never got close to touching it).



The next day, after getting a pastry and cappuccino at the Roberto Cavalli cafe (at first I thought it was totally cool that we were drinking coffee at a Roberto Cavelli cafe only to realize that something similar exists in Seattle. Nordstrom's has the same crappy overpriced coffee joint attached to most of its stores. Fortunately the quality step-up from Nordstrom's to Roberto Cavalli seen in fashion was also noted in coffee) we set out to conquer the artistic sites of Florence including the Uffizi gallery and the Academia (with a rapid tour of one of the large palaces across the river in Florence. See the additional pictures in the album. The one with Danielle frowning in front of the garden illustrates her sadness upon my refusal to drop another 9 euros to walk in the garden.) The cafe was on the way as was the flagship store of Santa Maria Novella Profumeria and Farmacia. This 16th century pharmacy once mixed perfumes for the Medici family. Surprisingly, they still mix and sell it (as well as hundreds of other items). Notably they have their menus printed in 4 languages. Based on the prices and the dozens of Japanese in the store the day we were there, they cater to the upper class....and Danielle.

Unfortunately, the guards in the Uffizi strictly enforce the no picture rule. Suffice it to say, Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera are every bit as breathtaking in person as you would expect them to be. There is also a no picture policy in the Academy, but I managed to sneak one of Danielle appreciating Michaelangelo's masterpiece. After taking in David and looking over Michaelangelo's slaves we headed out to get a bite at what the Lonely Planet calls "the best sandwich shop in all of Europe." This walk-up-and-stand place makes quick sandwiches for cheap and while we loved it (we ate there twice) I'm unable to place it in context with all other sandwich places in Europe. Sandwiches consumed included: 1)prosciutto, pecorino, truffles, and 2)tomatoes, arrugula, and mozzarella. Another nice touch was the 4 euro glass of Brunello.

Late that afternoon we packed up our stuff and headed for the train station. Venice was three hours away.