Florence, Italy

Tuesday morning we got packed up and headed out for Florence.  I was a little nervous about manuvering a 9 passenger van through a major European city, but our hotel turned out to be in a navigable area so it was fine.  We arrived at the hotel well before check in so we parked in the hotel's secure lot, bought bus passes at the front desk and hit the streets of Florence.  The bus ride was about 20 minutes to the heart of the city.

Our first stop was the Duomo, the cathedral church of Florence.  It took over 100 years to build (1296-1436) and once completed had the largest dome in the world.  The square was already pretty busy, but we found a spot along the Baptistery opposite the church and had a quick picnic lunch before going in. 

 Duomo Outside

 Duomo Inside

Duomo from the back

Once inside we wandered and snapped pictures for a little bit.  Although the exterior of the Duomo is quite unique and interesting to look at, the interior seemed pretty sparse compared to a lot of the cathedrals we'd been in.  We exited through a side door and then Grandpa, Lydia, Haaken and I found some gelato and a bench, while Grandma, Carissa and Elise climbed the Duomo's bell tower for a great view of the city.

Bell Tower

 Florence from the Bell Tower

Duomo's Dome

That's us on the bench eating Gelato

Once they conquered the bell tower we walked behind the Cathedral to the Duomo museum, which contains precious art and monuments that once were either a part of the exterior of the Duomo or housed inside.  Numerous works of some of the famous Italian masters are displayed including Michelangelo and Donatello.  It was a great little museum and it felt like we were the only ones it in.

Michelangelo Pieta

Following the museum we wanted to hit an outdoor market we had read about.  The San Lorenzo market is about a 10 minute walk from the Duomo and is filled with vendors selling leather coats, shoes, tshirts, jewelry, etc.  The market was packed and once we got there I think we all realized none of us were really in the mood to shop so we headed back past the Duomo and down Via dei Calzaioli, a famous street that connects the Piazza del Duomo, the religious hub of the old city, and the Piazza della Signoria, the politcial hub.  Lining the Piazza della Signoria are resturants, a few shops, and the massive Pallazzo Vecchio (town hall), and the Loggia dei Lanzi, an open-air sculpture gallery of Renaissance art.  Standing outside the Pallazo Vecchio is a copy of Michaelangelo's David in the spot where the original stood before it was moved inside the Accademia.  We walked around the square a bit but the kids were getting tired and we were quite a ways from the hotel so we jumped on the bus and checked in.  The kids had a quick nap and then we took the bus back into town and had a fabulous meal in the Piazza del Mercato Centrale.

 Piazza della Signoria

 Pallazzo Vecchio

Loggia dei Lanzi

 Dinner

Wednesday we had an ambitious plan to hit 3 museums, a market, grab souvenirs and drive to Venice.  After we packed up the car and checked out we took the bus back to town.  We started with sculptures at the Bargello museum.  Housed in a former palace, it contains hundreds of sculptures from the Italian masters.  We got the audio guide and spent an hour or so checking it all out.

 Borgello Courtyard

From there we walked back to the market we didn't feel like shopping at the day before.  Grandpa bought a leather jacket, Carissa bought some shoes, and Haaken got an Italy sweatsuit that makes him look like an 80s rapper.  We had a bit of time before we were scheduled to see the Accademia, so we made our way to the Farmer's market to pick up some lunch and had a quick bite on the steps outside.

San Loreno Market

The next stop was the Accademia Gallery, which is where Michelangelo's David is now housed.  Prior to going my mom described seeing David and Michelangelo's Prisoners as "thrilling".  I couldn't imagine how that could be possible, but after seeing it, I have to admit she was right.  Although we had seen the replica of David the day before in the Piazza della Signoria, it seemed much more impressive inside the museum.  Equally interesting were the Prisoners, which are partially completed sculptures he never had a chance to finish.  The figures look like they are literally trying to escape from these giant blocks of marble and you can see marks all over the stone where Michelangelo had been chipping away to help them escape.

The kids had been great until this point and we rewarded them with more gelato from a famous shop on the way to our last (and unfortunately biggest) museum, the Uffizi.  Outside the Uffizi the kids got some pictures with some of the street performers before we went in at our scheduled time.  I came prepared for this one and once inside I pulled out the iPods and headphones for Lydia and Haaken.  We got the audioguide and managed to listen to pretty much the entire thing, which took at least 2 hours.

Street shot

 Famous Gelato

Outside the Uffizi

After the Uffizi we took the bus back to the hotel, grabbed some food at the grocery next door, and then hopped in the van.  The 3 hour ride to Venice was uneventful and we parked in the massive parking garage on the shoreline.  We took a water taxi to the stop nearest our hotel and then a 15 minute walk through the streets before we finally were able to check in and collapse in our beds.