Our legs and feet are tired despite always being surprised at the great things we are seeing every day.
Today, we slept in a little and were the last ones out of the breakfast parlor. On the bus, Andrea helped a Russian couple who spoke no Italian and "po Inglesi" figure out how to get where they wanted to go. She has had several occassions to use her Russian, such as yesterday at lunch when she commented to a young family on how pretty and sweet their little girl was.
We headed up to Galleria della Accademia, a national museum where Michaelangelo's David is housed. We have experienced no lines to date, and our Firenze Card has expedited our entrances to the attractions. Not today. There was a substantial line waiting to enter la Accademia. We chatted with fellow Americans as we stood in line for about 30 minutes. For once, our guidebooks were correct when they stated there would be a line, and that it would be worth the wait.
Andrea had goose pimples when she entered the specially-constructed hall for the behemoth statue. We slowly approached, taking in its size and importance to the world of art history. Andrea expounded on the facts of the statue, pointing out interesting details, as we circled David twice. We quickly trekked through the rest of the museum, viewing works on display by Giotto (Giovanni del Biondi) and by the works of members of his school, including Gaddi and Daddi. There were some nice videos of how the works were originally created and how the works have been restored. I was pleased to see some more work by Bronzoni, one of my own newfound artists.
In the sculpture room, I learned of the work by sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini and Luigi Pampaloni. Andrea may have found her next area of academic pursuit; Russians who came to Italy in the early to mid 1800s and who were influenced by the art they saw first hand.
Cognizant of the time and our museum fatigue, we circled back to say goodbye to David before journeying across the River Arno. We first hit the Brancacci Chapel at Santa Maria del Carmine. Again, Andrea had goose bumps when she entered the small space reserved for the wall frescoes in this working church. She teaches about Masaccio in class and had a smile on her face the entire time.
From there, we grabbed a quick bite to eat: a Coke Zero for me (all my expanding tummy can take after our big breakfasts) and Andrea had her usual cheese and salami sandwich with a coffee. From there, it was a short walk to Chiesa Santo Spirito to see this church designed by Brunelleschi. I was fascinated by the family chapels which display paintings and sculptures by famous artists commissioned by the families to memorialize their progenitors, including a work by Pampaloni.
From there, it was a short walk to the Palazzo Pitti, a huge structure built by the Pittis, rivals of the Medicis until the Medicis pushed them out and took over the palazzo. The room decorations and ceiling art rival the works by the famous artists on the walls. The Boboli Gardens are part of the palace grounds, but while we tried to hurry through the rooms, the gardens were closed by the time we exited the vast halls.
We strolled down toward the Ponte Vecchio, window shopping along the way. On the other side of the river, we entered the Salvatore Ferragamo store, the brand's flagship store, and once again Andrea tried on several pairs of shoes to no avail. They were all too wide for Cinderella's narrow feet.
We walked up to La Maida, a restaurant recommended by the Ojai couple a few days ago. While not terrible, it was not the culinary fete they had described, and after some questionable service (that's Will's opinion), we walked home to pack up books no longer needed and some items acquired over the past 12 days to ship back to the States. We'll carry the 50+ pound box to post office in the morning before getting on the train to Venezia.
Hope everyone is having a good, long Memorial Day weekend! Below are random photos from today. Ciao!
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| Maccagio's Brancacci Chapel frescoes |
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| Piazza in front of Santo Spirito |
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| Andrea about to enter the Palazzo Pitti |
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| Courtyard inside the Pitti Palace |
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| View of Boboli Gardens through the closed gate |
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| A poser on Ponte Vecchio |
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| Ponte Vecchio late Sunday afternoon |
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| "I came all the way to Italy to shop at Ferragamo's, and all I got was a pair of try-on hose!" |
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| C3 bus just barely fits the street (fuzzy because I had to move before the bus ran me over) |
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| Santa Maria del Carmine, home of the Brancacci Chapel (the good stuff is inside) |
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| Peering into the Boboli Gardens |
2 comments:
Happy Memorial Day to the traveling art historians. I swear Will this may be your new job. Poor Cinderella no shoes. She should phone up Salvatore and say what the hey!!! where are my narrow shoes? It is stifeling hot here and me with no AC
Love the melting mother
Just getting around to reading all this wonderful stuff. Honestly, feel as though I'm right there with you. Will, your descriptions are beyond belief. I thought Travels with Rudy on PBS were inviting but your's are beyond inviting. Andrea, my sweets, what about a scarf rather than shoes--at least it would be the real thing and no size necessary. You make my otherwise dull work day exciting. Love you two--Aunt D.
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