Italy, Day 3
On Sunday we spent the day around Firenze, beginning with this delicious, nutritious breakfast of cereal, cappuccino, and blood orange juice (of which I can't even explain the flavor gorgeousness).
After a solid night of sleep, we were feelin' perky and ready to take on the town!
We met up with Jennifer (who lives a few minutes' walk from the apartment where we stayed) and hopped a bus.
Isn't it funny how everything is a photo op when you're on vacation, even riding a bus?
Our plan was to see The David at L'Accademia. On the way, we did some leather shopping.
We arrived at the (rather long) line for the museum and knew we were in the right place when we saw this:
We were entertained by the graffiti on the outside wall contributed by the many bored David-seekers before us.
... and added a little something of our own.
I love Italy.
Odd thing: all week, everywhere we went, we encountered hordes of teenagers. It must have been Field Trip Week in Italy or something.
Inside L'Accademia, we were only allowed to take pictures in the foyer. Luckily, there was a cool ceiling to look at.
Now, the last time I saw the David, I was an idiot and forgot to turn off my flash before I took a photo of the most perfect sculpture in the world. (Photos = BIG NO-NO.) I was actually banned from the museum for life, but I was pretty sure nobody would kick me out or anything seven years later. This time, I did not take photos, and instead waited until I came home and found some pics on the Internet to convey to you the absolute beauty of this sculpture.
As with much art, the scale of the David becomes lost in photos in books and slides in Art 101. No one realizes how massive he is until you see him. It's NINETEEN FEET. And every inch is perfection.
Michelangelo said, "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."
Not to be corny, but you really feel the presence of genius when you are in front of this statue. There are many beautiful inches and angles of David to admire, but my favorite has always been the hand, hanging at his side, taut with veins.
As you leave the museum, there is this photo hanging of everyone staring at the sculpture. It pretty much captures the awe of everyone who sees it.
Anyway, after that we were starving! We headed toward a pizzeria we'd seen on our way.
I love street musicians. (don't worry, I was respectful and gave him some money.)
Pizzeria in Italy is not like pizzeria in America. I am still fantasizing about this meal. Bread, olive oil, salami. That's it. That's all you need. And it was absolute culinary beauty.
Of course, in Italy you have wine with every meal except breakfast. We had the cheapest wine there, the house wine that was actually made by the ristorante. And it, too, was awesome. (I've gotta get a thesaurus or something. There aren't enough words in our language for the things I ate and drank in Italy.)
Shannon and I enjoyed cappuccini.
When I say enjoy, I mean seriously enjoy.
We spent the rest of the day pretty much just walking around the town and window shopping. It was kind of ridiculous.
"Shews!"
And food. Lots of window shopping for food. Since Easter was just around the corner, all the shops had out their best chocolate bunnies and such.
And marzipan!
We stopped by the Duomo.
We went back to the Ponte Vecchio.
And in this piazza, Shannon and I decided it was absolutely necessary to ride the merry-go-round.
After we finished with that, it was nighfall.
So we took a bus to Fiesole, a little teeny town just outside of/overlooking Firenze and shared some wine, looking back on the events of the day.
Then took in the view. Ah, Firenze. Te amo.
We capped off the night with Nutella so delicious that we couldn't even let our plates keep the last bits.
One beautiful, relaxing day in Firenze. Next time: a bit more Firenze, and en route to Venezia!
love,
*jenna*
After a solid night of sleep, we were feelin' perky and ready to take on the town!
We met up with Jennifer (who lives a few minutes' walk from the apartment where we stayed) and hopped a bus.
Isn't it funny how everything is a photo op when you're on vacation, even riding a bus?
Our plan was to see The David at L'Accademia. On the way, we did some leather shopping.
We arrived at the (rather long) line for the museum and knew we were in the right place when we saw this:
We were entertained by the graffiti on the outside wall contributed by the many bored David-seekers before us.
... and added a little something of our own.
I love Italy.
Odd thing: all week, everywhere we went, we encountered hordes of teenagers. It must have been Field Trip Week in Italy or something.
Inside L'Accademia, we were only allowed to take pictures in the foyer. Luckily, there was a cool ceiling to look at.
Now, the last time I saw the David, I was an idiot and forgot to turn off my flash before I took a photo of the most perfect sculpture in the world. (Photos = BIG NO-NO.) I was actually banned from the museum for life, but I was pretty sure nobody would kick me out or anything seven years later. This time, I did not take photos, and instead waited until I came home and found some pics on the Internet to convey to you the absolute beauty of this sculpture.
As with much art, the scale of the David becomes lost in photos in books and slides in Art 101. No one realizes how massive he is until you see him. It's NINETEEN FEET. And every inch is perfection.
Michelangelo said, "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."
Not to be corny, but you really feel the presence of genius when you are in front of this statue. There are many beautiful inches and angles of David to admire, but my favorite has always been the hand, hanging at his side, taut with veins.
As you leave the museum, there is this photo hanging of everyone staring at the sculpture. It pretty much captures the awe of everyone who sees it.
Anyway, after that we were starving! We headed toward a pizzeria we'd seen on our way.
I love street musicians. (don't worry, I was respectful and gave him some money.)
Pizzeria in Italy is not like pizzeria in America. I am still fantasizing about this meal. Bread, olive oil, salami. That's it. That's all you need. And it was absolute culinary beauty.
Of course, in Italy you have wine with every meal except breakfast. We had the cheapest wine there, the house wine that was actually made by the ristorante. And it, too, was awesome. (I've gotta get a thesaurus or something. There aren't enough words in our language for the things I ate and drank in Italy.)
Shannon and I enjoyed cappuccini.
When I say enjoy, I mean seriously enjoy.
We spent the rest of the day pretty much just walking around the town and window shopping. It was kind of ridiculous.
"Shews!"
And food. Lots of window shopping for food. Since Easter was just around the corner, all the shops had out their best chocolate bunnies and such.
And marzipan!
We stopped by the Duomo.
We went back to the Ponte Vecchio.
And in this piazza, Shannon and I decided it was absolutely necessary to ride the merry-go-round.
After we finished with that, it was nighfall.
So we took a bus to Fiesole, a little teeny town just outside of/overlooking Firenze and shared some wine, looking back on the events of the day.
Then took in the view. Ah, Firenze. Te amo.
We capped off the night with Nutella so delicious that we couldn't even let our plates keep the last bits.
One beautiful, relaxing day in Firenze. Next time: a bit more Firenze, and en route to Venezia!
love,
*jenna*
posted by jenna at 3:05 PM
1 Comments:
jenna
wonderful trip... great blog.
p.s. you are a gifted writer. not everyone are gifted readers.
tom
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