Tuesday, August 25, 2009
This is the view from where we parked - the Piazzale Michaelangelo - nice eh? And we found yet another David. Florence is a beautiful city -
"No Harleys Allowed" - or so it seems - look at all the scooters! Anyway - we did some shopping and browsing on the way back to the car - bought a great pink leather purse -
We walked the streets some more and arrived here - the Piazza della Signoria where the building in the picture -the Palazzo Vecchio- is located. Here is David number 2 - just below and to the right of the flags on the building. This is where the original David stood until 1873. The old palace still fulfills its original as town hall. It was completed in 1322 when a huge bell, used to call citizens to meetings or warn of fire,flood, or enemy attack, was hauled up to the top of the imposing bell tower.
Just outside of the main entrance sits the Duomo's Baptistry. Lorenzo Ghiberti's famous bronze Baptistry doors were commissioned in 1401 to mark the city's deliverance from the plague. Jake is next to one of the panels depicting the Fall of Jericho. They are so detailed - these are copies though - as the original doors have been put in a museum for their safekeeping.
From the Galleria we walked thru the maze of streets to the Duomo - Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral is Europe's fourth largest church. The exterior of it is richly decorated with white,green, and pink Tuscan marble and reliefs. Brunelleschi's dome, finished in 1463 was the largest of its time to be built without scaffolding. The Last Judgement frescoes (1574-1474) by Vasari are amazing to view -
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Today -we all got in the truck early and drove to Florence - we had a date with David. I had bought our tickets weeks earlier so we did not have to wait in line. They don't allow cameras but we couldn't resist. Michaelangelo's David is housed in the Galleria dell'Accademia - the Academy of Fine Arts. David stands at colossal 17ft. tall. It is the biblical hero David who killed the giant Goliath. It really is a masterpiece. Michaelangelo sculpted David at the age of 29.
We stayed on the beach all day - Scott and I walked to a small store store and grabbed some lunch for all of us and we dined at the beach on some fresh Capicola and cheese, fruits and drinks - and even some gelato.
What a great time! Swimming in the Mediterranean - awesome! The water felt great!
Getting chairs and an umbrella in May was easy - later in the summer - this would have been nearly impossible. It was really great - they assign you your chairs because many of them are owned by season passes and cannot be rented by the day. So - we just followed the walkway down to the sea-
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Today was our day to relax - in the Med! Our town of Camaiore is very close to the beach so we enjoyed a day at the Lido di Camaiore - and got some chairs at ARGO.
