Florence Thy Name Is Beauty!!!

July 18, 2010 - Florence

Went to the Accademia in the morning - they were happy to take our reservations from the night before, just charged us a little to rebook. We were happy to pay whatever, just to avoid the hellaciously long line outside in the heat.

All of the art at the Accademia was exceptionally beautiful, but the highlight was certainly DAVID. Izzy and I sat for quite some time just taking it all in. I had to view it from every single angle to get the full scope of the genius. I was overwhelmed and wept at the terrific beauty and majesty. What an utter delight to see up close a work of art that has captured my imagination since I was a small girl. Only Michelangelo was able to bring life to a piece of marble that others had failed with. After we viewed the rest of the museum, we had to return to view DAVID one last time. Izzy and I snuggled and marveled at his extreme beauty and size.

The Duomo was exquisite, but we were unable to climb the steps, because it is closed on Sundays. The interior was gorgeous though!!! The Catholics love them some expensive churches.

The baptistry was a little more austere, but still lovely. The mosaics on the floors were stunning!

The Uffizi was next. We just kept plugging along even though we were already so tired. There aren't any brilliant or original words to describe the beauty that we were able to see. The highlights of the Uffizi were The Birth of Venus and a Rembrandt self portrait. They had an additional Caravaggio exhibit, and it was spectacular!!! His use of light is exquisite. It is the 400 year anniversary since Carivaggio's death, and the Italians love to memorialize their famous folk. They believe that everything good that ever happened to the world, happened in Italia. They are a very proud people. I LOVE it!

11 straight hours on our feet with a short stop for lunch. We are so grateful when the day ends and we are able to rest our feet, but we are enjoying every minute.