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Harry and Elle warned us away from trying to drive into Firenze, so we took the train from Altopascio.
It was a quite nice way to travel. Our first stop was the Uffizi museum where we saw part of an amazing collection.
Most impressive to me was an unfinished da Vinci; Sarah liked the Annunciation. And we were both struck by a wonderful
painting of an open book -- it stood out because there were almost no other still lifes: lots of religious images,
lots of portraits, but very few simple still lifes (no photos allowed unfortunately).
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Our next stop was the Ponte Vecchio, or old bridge. Built in 1345, the name really does say it all.
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The shops on the bridge are now all diamond stores -- we were not in the market, but it was fun to look. And the views from the
bridge were also spectacular. Sarah pointed out the clouds, which appear in so many of the paintings we were just looking at.
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Our next stop was the Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace. A huge area we only got the tiniest of tastes of. But also
offering fine views of Firenze and a place for Robert to stretch his legs.
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From the Boboli Gardens, we headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. On the way we went by
the duomo -- which put the one in Pisa to shame (part of the plan, no doubt). We didn't have time to go in, but did stare in
amazement and the outside, which is impressive for its total lack of understated charm. No photos of the David were allowed but the
Accademia says Michelangelo asked for a block of marble left over from the duomo to carve -- conflicting with Carrara's version
of him picking out the block at the quarry.
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A tired Robert outside the duomo and the final Internet cafe we ran across close out this travel adventure.
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