Florence, Day 2

We had a big day planned in Florence. We started at the Galleria Accademia, where we got to see Michelangelo’s David. Out of all the things we have seen so far on this trip, this one is what made me miss my dad the most. I have thought about him every day during this trip and how much he would have loved all the artwork and experiencing everything with the kids. The David was as awesome as I hoped it would be, and I snuck around one of the tour guides to hear what he was saying to a group. The kids liked learning about how sculptures use chisels to cut out the rock until the picture is made instead of creating the picture with playdough. We talked about negative space and taking away versus adding. They liked seeing the unfinished statues that Michelangelo was working on but never got around to completing and how different they looked from the finished product. We walked through the rest of the museum, and almost everyone loved looking at the old musical instruments, including the hurdy gurdy.

We then took a walk through the town to stop at several Piazzas. The first was the Piazza della Repubblica, which had a carousel that Willow had to get a picture in front of. We then walked to the Porcellino Fountain so we could rub the nose of the boar for good luck. There were also street vendors all around so of course we had to wander through. I still wanted to buy a leather jacket, but after yesterday the thought of putting on another jacket was just not appealing. Maybe next time. We then walked to the Piazza della Signoria and saw the open air museum of statues in the big piazza. There was a rally from the universities going on all over Italy that day so there were a ton of people. This is where the replica of the David statue is, and although it looks like the original, it just isn’t the same. We also walked just inside the Palazzo Vecchio but didn’t go through the museum because we still had a lot to do today!

Our next stop was the Ponte Vecchio bridge. My mom didn’t believe we were actually walking on a bridge until we showed her the water through the windows of the shops lining each side. It definitely doesn’t feel like you are walking on a bridge. The kids found an iron ring that they wanted to do pull ups on, and of course I needed to snap a picture. Of course there was time for gelato, and a few pictures of the bridge from the outside. The best view of the bridge was from the fourth floor of the Uffizi gallery, which we went to next.

The Uffizi didn’t disappoint. This is four giant floors of art, and we used the Rick Steve’s audio guide to get us through the top floor, which is where the highlights are. We spent over two hours on this floor alone, and by now everyone was tired, had sore feet, and the two little kids were ready to go. So we didn’t get to see the rest of the floors, but that’s okay, I was proud the kids lasted as long as they did. Here is some of the ‘highlights reel’—

Here we had a decision to make—walk across the river to the Piazzale Michelangelo, a park with views of the city, or go to the Church of Santa Croce. We chose to go to the church, and I am glad we did. We had an architecture lesson about building facades and why they would put a pretty front on the brown building. Willow was fascinated with the grave markers and was horrified when people were stepping on the ‘dead bodies’. We saw the tombs and monuments to several notable Florentine figures, including (in order posted) Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, and Rossini. I snuck a picture of Ronin praying; whenever we go into a church he wants to sit down and pray for a few minutes. I don’t know what he prays for as he won’t tell us, but I am glad he feels compelled to pray. We have had lots of discussions about religion and Christianity over the last few weeks.