Friday, August 31, 2012

Florence - Day 4

Hard to believe, but we still had not visited all the major attractions in Florence.  We started this morning at the Accademia.  There were huge crowds of tour groups from cruise ships wandering down the streets headed to this museum.  Once again, our Florence pass let us skip the line, although we had to wait about 10 minutes to be let inside.


No pictures inside here either, but my brother didn't realize this and took a few "illegal" pictures.  The main thing to see here is the main gallery lined with the Dying Slave statues of Michelangelo.  At the end of the hall stands the famous statue of David, surrounded by masses of tour groups.  It is quite a zoo, but if you wait and time it right, you might get a few minutes in the gallery without a huge crowd before they let the next group in.  There is other artwork to view as well as old instruments on display, but David is the main attraction!


A bit of a rest, a snack, and a cool off in the hotel and then we headed out for the afternoon.  This time we crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and headed to the Pitti Palace.  We spent several hours wandering through the sumptuous rooms.  I really wish I could have taken pictures here.  This was more of a palace than an art gallery, although there were many works by famous artists. But the decor was unbelievable - the ceilings, the walls, the furniture, the decorations, all lush and rich.  


When we finished seeing the palace we walked out towards the gardens, but decided it just was too hot to walk any more.  It would have been fun to wander around this side of the Arno, but I think we were exhausted and totally cultured out by this point!

But the day wasn't quite done yet.  My next post will share a fabulous meal that ended our visit to Florence!

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