Looking Back....

I realize I never blogged a thing about Florence! I think that's because Florence was, so far, my favorite. I think the people were more friendly, more open, the town itself is smaller and less crazy-busy than the other places we've seen, and the food was better. That's important, you know! We were so wrapped up in enjoying the place, I missed writing down anything about it.

We arrived in Florence after a long, long day in Rome, which included the visit to the Sistine Chapel. We decided that the next day would be a sleep-in day, and we did. Once we were up, we did laundry, organized ourselves, and headed out for a little while. We were in luck! We walked right into the market place, where we found lovely things. Mary found a pair of fingerless gloves, "For riding and archery, Mom." I found a purse. I had wanted to buy some nice Italian leather, and I did it. I spent more than I have ever considered spending on something that didn't strap onto a horse, but it's lovely leather. We also bought some scarves.

We also managed to do some real sightseeing, too, in the two days that we spent there. (We had planned on three. Another Melody fail. No reservation the third night!) We visited the Duomo



and the Baptistry. We saw Ghiberti's Baptistry doors, which we had learned about at home. They were absolutely beautiful in person.





We also visited the Uffizi gallery, where we saw one of Mary's favorite paintings, Botticelli's Primavera, and one of mine, Michelangelo's Holy Family. We did not make it to the Accademia, to see Michelangelo's David. We did see the copy, which is in the Palazza del Signorio in Florence. But we got to the point of the day when we should have headed to the Accademia, and realized we were just worn out. We left it for another trip.

By the way, visiting these galleries has not been like walking into the Art Institute in Chicago. Here these visits should be pre-booked. We waited in line at the Uffizi for about an hour and a half and were only halfway to the door. At that point, we opted for a guided tour, which got us in right away. Even the Florence Duomo had a tremendously long line. We got out of that one and came back later.

Florence is a city I hope to visit again someday. Yes, I would visit Rome again, but I think I would do that because I should. Florence is one I want to visit again!