Sunday: Patrick and I headed to Florence. We caught a high-speed train (90 minutes versus over 4 hours) and walked to our hotel. The hotel is only about three blocks from the train station. And the train station is really close to the Duomo (Cathedral) and the center of town. The hotel is very much a European hotel--our room is very cute. After arriving to Florence, we set out to reserve tickets for the Accademia and Uffizi museums. After freaking out because there were no tickets left online Patrick and I went down to the concierge. The lady informed us that the man in the morning, if we came and talked to him, would be able to help us. After feeling frustrated about the difficultly of obtaining tickets, we left for some dinner. We went to a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves that was good, but I chose poorly. I usually like pesto sauce, but this pesto was not what I like. To make up for it Patrick and I kept eating. We started with some gelato and then Patrick spied a belgian waffle maker. He got it coated in Nutella which then proceeded to cover our own faces. We found this extremely funny and were shouting and making faces at each other to the amusement of everyone else. We then hit the hay for a busy day of walking in Pisa tomorrow.
Monday: Patrick and I headed to Pisa. We had four things to see: the Leaning Tower (Belfry of the Cathedral), the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistery (where you get Baptized), and the Duomo museum. Before setting off on our adventure, we had the concierge look for time slots for the museums for us. He was able to get the last slots available for both the Uffizi and Accademia. I was super glad! Then we caught a train from Florence to Pisa and took a self-guided walking tour (about an hour) through New Pisa, across the bridge, through Old Pisa, and ending at the Field of Miracles (the grassy lawn that houses the Duomo, Belfry and Baptistery). Pisa is beautiful and very old-Italian picturesque--there are lots of old men meeting in the streets and most people are either riding a bike or a scooter. When we got to the Field of Miracles we first got our time slot to go up in the tower. Then we headed into the Baptistery. The acoustics in the Baptistery are amazing. The echo of one person makes them sounds like a whole chorus singing. They demonstrate this every half hour. After the Bapistery we got some lunch and then we took some more tower pictures. We then got to go up! That tower is a trip. Because it leans, it is so weird to walk up. You can feel the leaning as you walk up. After the tower we took our final tourist pictures and wandered through the Duomo, which had another Saint's body in full view. This body had a silver mask and shoes though; it reminded me of an Eyptian sarcophagus. After the Duomo, we went through the Duomo museum, which had lovely old priests' robes. They were so ornate and beautiful. After the museum, we headed back to the train station, but first we stopped for gelato at a gelateria that Rick Steves recommended--it was the best gelato I've had so far! A great berry and yogurt flavor. When we got back from Pisa we gathered up our laundry and headed to the laundry mat. We took turns watching the machines and someone else went out to grab a slice of pizza. By the time the laundry was done, it was bed time.
Tuesday: Today was museum day in Florence. We had a 1:30 slot for the Accademia and a 4:45 slot for the Uffizi, so to fill our morning we went to the Galileo Science Museum (we needed a break from the art). The museum was really interesting. It just reopened this month and you can see how much work they put into it. It was great and all of the equipment was beautifully decorated. We also got to see Galileo's thumb and index from his left hand, his middle finger of his right hand and a tooth. After the museum, we ate a lunch at a place Rick Steves recommended--so good! It was a tiny place with a fresh menu for every day. When we walked in carrying our guidebook, two other groups laughed and commented that that's how they found the place too. And as we ate, another large group with Rick Steves wandered in! After lunch we went to the Accademia, and saw Michangelo's David. It is amazing. 14 feet tall and so magnificent. We wandered through the rest of the museum, but my favorite pieces were the unfinished statues by Michangelo--you could really see his process. Unlike other artists he didn't sketch out his design on the stone, he just started chipping away. He thought a sculptor was supposed to find God's design in the stone. After the Accademia, we wandered down to the Uffizi and stopped for (what else) gelato--we still testing the claim that Florence has the best gelato. I still think that place in Pisa was better. There is a replica of the David outside the Uffizi and some actual sculptures by prestigious Renaissance artists under a covering--it's nice they let the world enjoy some art all of the time for free. The Uffizi houses works by Renaissance painters like da Vinci, Raphael, Michangelo, Botticelli, and Tizano (Titian). I loved all of the paintings, especially Botticelli's, but I think I may be art-ed out now. After this last museum, we grabbed dinner and came back for an earlier night.
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