It’s funny watching Stacey drink super hot espresso every morning. At home, I have to put an ice cube into her coffee to cool it down enough for her to drink it. Now, she sucks them back like there’s no tomorrow, and always wants to stop for caffé. Plus, we have one after every meal. I think this is an addiction…
We slugged back a quick pastry and caffé this morning at 7. Normally, we wouldn’t be up this early, but we have a date with David. We got lost (naturally) in the streets of Florence trying to find the Galleria Academia where he lives. Found it early enough that there was only about a hundred people or so in line ahead of us. We got in after about 45 minutes, so it wasn’t that bad. You’re not allowed to take any pictures in there, but they allow you to bring your cameras in. We managed to get a few shots anyway. Stacey got caught taking one, and this security lady started screaming “No Photos” at her, causing everyone to stare at us. David is mighty impressive, I never realized he was that big. Fun fact: his right hand is much bigger than the left hand. This was intentionally done by Michelangelo to symbolize the hand of God that enabled David to slay Goliath, and free Florence.
After that we did a whirlwind tour of Florence. We saw the Duomo last night, so we went there today and snapped a bunch of pictures. We made our way over to the Palazzo Vecchio where the fake David is, as well as many other reproductions of famous statues. We walked down to, and across the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, and past the Uffizi Gallery. We would have liked to have gone into the Uffizi, but the line was HUGE, and we were running out of time.
We had to check out of the hotel by 11 am, so it was a quick and dirty tour of Florence. All the books warned us about thieves, and pickpockets and drug dealers, so we didn’t expect much. Turns out that was not the case, and Florence is a very charming, fun, albeit confusing city. It’s loud, and never seems to sleep.
So, we got into the Mercedes and drove to Siena. What a cool place! We had to park pretty far away from the Il Campo as they don’t allow any cars inside it. As soon as we reached the Il Campo, it started pouring! The nice part was, was that it cleared out all the outdoor cafes. We managed to get a table inside one for a quick lunch, but then the sun came out. We asked our waitress if we could move outside, and she gave us primo seating in the front row! We were the first table inside to move outside, and then within 10 minutes, the whole place was packed. It was like moths to a flame. All these people came from nowhere to sit down outside. It would have been a miracle to get a great seat like that otherwise. The 20 minute thunderstorm, which ironically was the first rain we had this trip, turned out to be a total blessing for us.
We walked around Siena for a while after that and made it into the Duomo there. It has art by Michelangelo, and these crazy mosaic floors that are only exposed once a year to preserve them. Luckily for us, this is that time of year. The floor apparently took 500 (yes, five hundred) years to complete. It’s totally insane looking in there, almost like it’s out of Alice in Wonderland.
We left Siena, and are now in Montalcino for the next two nights. This is where the Sangiovese grape is grown for the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine. We should have purple teeth by the time we leave here for Rome on Thursday.
We slugged back a quick pastry and caffé this morning at 7. Normally, we wouldn’t be up this early, but we have a date with David. We got lost (naturally) in the streets of Florence trying to find the Galleria Academia where he lives. Found it early enough that there was only about a hundred people or so in line ahead of us. We got in after about 45 minutes, so it wasn’t that bad. You’re not allowed to take any pictures in there, but they allow you to bring your cameras in. We managed to get a few shots anyway. Stacey got caught taking one, and this security lady started screaming “No Photos” at her, causing everyone to stare at us. David is mighty impressive, I never realized he was that big. Fun fact: his right hand is much bigger than the left hand. This was intentionally done by Michelangelo to symbolize the hand of God that enabled David to slay Goliath, and free Florence.
After that we did a whirlwind tour of Florence. We saw the Duomo last night, so we went there today and snapped a bunch of pictures. We made our way over to the Palazzo Vecchio where the fake David is, as well as many other reproductions of famous statues. We walked down to, and across the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, and past the Uffizi Gallery. We would have liked to have gone into the Uffizi, but the line was HUGE, and we were running out of time.
We had to check out of the hotel by 11 am, so it was a quick and dirty tour of Florence. All the books warned us about thieves, and pickpockets and drug dealers, so we didn’t expect much. Turns out that was not the case, and Florence is a very charming, fun, albeit confusing city. It’s loud, and never seems to sleep.
So, we got into the Mercedes and drove to Siena. What a cool place! We had to park pretty far away from the Il Campo as they don’t allow any cars inside it. As soon as we reached the Il Campo, it started pouring! The nice part was, was that it cleared out all the outdoor cafes. We managed to get a table inside one for a quick lunch, but then the sun came out. We asked our waitress if we could move outside, and she gave us primo seating in the front row! We were the first table inside to move outside, and then within 10 minutes, the whole place was packed. It was like moths to a flame. All these people came from nowhere to sit down outside. It would have been a miracle to get a great seat like that otherwise. The 20 minute thunderstorm, which ironically was the first rain we had this trip, turned out to be a total blessing for us.
We walked around Siena for a while after that and made it into the Duomo there. It has art by Michelangelo, and these crazy mosaic floors that are only exposed once a year to preserve them. Luckily for us, this is that time of year. The floor apparently took 500 (yes, five hundred) years to complete. It’s totally insane looking in there, almost like it’s out of Alice in Wonderland.
We left Siena, and are now in Montalcino for the next two nights. This is where the Sangiovese grape is grown for the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine. We should have purple teeth by the time we leave here for Rome on Thursday.
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