As soon as we woke up this morning, we called the front desk and asked our hotelier if she could get us reservations to see Michelangelo's "David." Florence is full of great and famous art and sculptures, but the one thing we really hoped to see on this return trip was our friend Dave. We'd read last night, right before going to bed, that tickets/reservations are hard to come by without at least a few days' notice. So when the hotelier called back in about 15 minutes to say we had reservations this afternoon at 1:15 to see the "big guy," we were relieved and happy! You can tell this Hotel Duomo is used to American and British tourists, because unlike a lot of small Italian hotels, they offer a full breakfast, with choices that the Americans and Brits like--such as eggs! Our hotel is less than a stone's throw from the Duomo, making it a very convenient location. So we set out after a nice breakfast to the Michelangelo Piazza, which sits up on a hill across the Arno River, overlooking Florence. The weather today was as sunny and warm as we've seen in Europe, and needless to say, we are very happy about that! The walk to the Piazza involved a nice walk along the Arno River that runs through Florence, and a lot of steps, and we were again thankful that our health allows us to do things like walk/climb up to the Piazza. Once there, the view of Florence below was well worth the climb! We hung out there, took some photos, then went to a nearby beautiful park where we walked and enjoyed the greenery, and the peace and quiet. Bev conspired with me to take a photo of the shortest skirt of the many that we've seen in Italy! We made a stop at a public restroom, where for about 50 cents you can use a bathroom that is quite clean, before heading back down the hill to Florence. We had almost gotten back to our hotel when Bev realized she'd left her lightweight sweater in the bathroom, back up the hill. We didn't have time to go back and retrieve it before our reservation to see David, so we kept on schedule. We walked past a line that is no doubt a 3-hour wait to get into the Academia Museum to see David for those without reservations. We arrived at the door for those with reservations, and we were the only ones there! The guards let us in, 5 minutes early.
David was well worth the effort to see him. You don't have to be a student of sculpture to find David absolutely amazing in his life-like detail! He is enormous, and his muscles, tendons and bones are so realistic in their detail, consistent with the posture of David's body. To think that that detail came out of a big chunk of marble is beyond comprehension!
After seeing a few other works in the Academia, we walked back to the Duomo where we caught a cab to take us back up to the restroom by the Michelangelo Piazza in search of Bev's sweater. We weren't about to walk those steps a second time! Lo and behold, the sweater was lying there with the attendant. Someone had turned it in! I still don't know if tourists here in Florence are that honest, or if my cold-blooded wife is the only person who even thinks of wearing a sweater in today's heat and sunshine. In any event, the sweater was safely back in her possession! Wanting to turn lemon into lemonade, since we were back on the hill for the second time today, we decided to have lunch and a glass of wine at a bar overlooking the beautiful City of Firenza! It was so nice up there, enjoying the vista, I was almost glad Bev had left her sweater!
We walked back down to Florence after this mid-afternoon lunch, and walked around the tourist-filled streets, enjoying the whole Florence experience, including street artists, mimes and musicians. Later, for dinner, we went to a second generation family-owned trattoria, run by two twin brothers, recommended by our new best friend, Rick. The place is said to be a local favorite, and it was full when we got there, so one of the brothers told us to come back in 20 minutes. When we came back, he put us at a table for 4 with a young couple who happened to be from Vancouver, B.C. Since they spoke perfect English, of course, we had a wonderful visit over dinner, comparing travel notes. We were also told that they were recent law school graduates and were completing some final studies required to become Canadian lawyers, so we had plenty to talk about! One of the great things about this kind of traveling is the people one meets, and the sharing of stories that always happens. Assuming, that is, that they speak English!
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