Ok I blame the new moon on my Venice ramblings, so its a good thing Florence improved my mood :). Still a little overwhelmed by churches and history which I know nothing about, I couldn't helped be awed by the Basilica St Mary (she's popular in these parts). Featuring outlandish marble facade with statues of all our favourite biblical characters, its an outstanding piece of work. I walked around in the pouring rain, which wasn't much fun so didn't stray too far when I arrived.
The next day I got my bearings and checked out the Piazza Michelangelo which is on a hill top giving great views over the city. Yes Firenze - city where leather pants are still cool, ducatis rule and ferrari is a fashion label. But not having any of these things in my backpack, I'm grateful its a place you don't have to shave to look cool ;).
I did my ususal few miles of walking and came across a market place in Piazza St Santos, in front of the church of the same name. It was a low key market selling second hand disposables but nothing caught my eye. The church itself was pretty specky with more reneissance art by some famous Italians. Later in the evening I went to the Galleria del Accademia, which is more of an art museum full of goodies. It included a display of reneissance musical instruments mostly donated by the Medici family, but the security guard wasn't impressed with my rendition of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata on a replica 17th century harpsichord! I don't know why not, oh I didn't see that 'do not touch' sign, hehe.
There were more paintings from more famous painters, and a whole room of sculptures. Who was Bortellini anyway? He's pretty handy with a chisel whoever he was :P. But the star of the show was Michelangelo's David - not the replica which I found in the Piazza on the hill, but the real McCoy! And yes its a stunning piece of work. Even an artistic grommet like me can tell how good it is ;). The detail is only evident when you see it close up, like the veins in his hand and forearm, but if you ask me, the middle joint of his right index finger was a little out of proportion - geez Michel, get it together! hahah.
So I was happy with Florence. I didn't have too many problems getting lost, and of course you can't beat really good food - rissoto, cappucino, calzone(?), pizza, nice crusty bread which is served with everything, and the rest. I could walk to the train station and to the main attracttions, so all went well :)... and you have to love the sound of a hundred church bells all going off slightly out of time, hehe.
I'm actually in Rome at the moment and have settled in pretty well. I'll be here for 3 days so will write up a blurb in the next edition.
Ciao!
