Sights from Florence

 

We arrived in Florence via a quick 20 minute train ride from Prato yesterday.

News on the street that we were coming had hit and the crowds were waiting. Well, maybe not so much in this photo.

We had bought tickets ahead of time (to avoid the long line ups) to see the Galleria Academia which is the home of the famous sculpture, David. Sorry, to inform that there is no such thing as "no line ups" in big Italian cities, but it was perhaps a little less for us than the poor buggers who didn't purchase ahead of time!

It was pretty amazing to see Michelangelo's David, carved in marble, along with all the human sculptures, beautiful paintings and other pieces. I asked my obliging photographer (okay, partner, since he informs me we are in on this 50/50) to take the child and the dog (above). I thought it was such a beautiful depiction of unconditional love between animal and human - so sweet.  

Speaking of sweets, the torrone (white nougat below) in Italy is another religious experience not to be missed. It is not carved in marble like David, but is certainly another art form in and of itself!  Okay and you can probably choke down a chocolate or two, if one's arm had to be twisted!

Going over the infamous Pontevecchio bridge (with what felt like about 10,000 other people) felt a bit surreal after having seen it on Rick Steeves and so many other travel shows. Quite something nonetheless - I hope you enjoy the view of it from your comfortable seats.

After having been on our feet for about 5 hours at this point, along with 100,000 other people (notice I added another zero at the end of this count), it seemed only prudent to take a break. The Italians are known for their love of a delicious, thirst quenching cocktail called "Aperol Spritzer". And so as not to stand out in a crowd, we obliged...

Well, we couldn't drink on an empty stomach (hard as that is to believe, I know) ...

Can you say "yum"... 

We were good law abiding citizens and most certainly did not touch any of the dried goods below. It seems a bit prejudiced though that the sign was only in English though? 

All in all, Florence is a beautiful city which warrants at least another couple of days to take in all of the sights. 

 Alla prossima (until next time)!

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