Ok guys, its Joann time….aka the “Florence Blog” which I have been nominated to write because of my expertise or just plain obsession for this city. As most of you know, I studied in Florence about six years ago (ouch!) and ever since I left I swore to myself that I would return….
So as you read in the previous blog, Jay and I “accidentally” ended up in Florence after a beautiful afternoon in Pisa, so of course we had to stay for dinner and make the best of it, unfortunately though, for me, it was only a few hours so we decided that we would go back in the near future…
So its 11am and of course we’re up late, but we make our way to the piazza where most of the buses going out of town make their stops. We hop on a bus and are on our way… The ride goes by fast,,,its about the same time as going from Staten Island into the city…(for all my SI folk). We arrive and the first stop is to see Michaelangelo’s “David.” I swear, I think even Jay fell in love with him. Its inevitable, people just stand around him and cant help but stare at his huge…head! Seriously, it is said that Michaelangelo did in fact make David’s torso and head bigger in proportion to the rest of his body so that us little people, looking at him from down under could see him in the right proportion. Oh wait, before I move on to our second stop, I wanted to share with you a little story, which explains how serious people really are about the David. After sneaking in a few fantastic pictures of him we walk around and take a seat right behind him. While admiring his backside, a girl sitting next to Jay asks “How tall do you think he is?” Jay answers: “Maybe about 20-30 feet?”, she nods and turns back around. Jay then, innocently assuming that he could perhaps continue the friendly exchange says: “hey, don’t you think he looks like Bill, from Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure??” At this point, the girl turns around and says with the most disgusted look on her face: “NO” and turns back around, tending to her business at which point Jay turns to me and insists that we must leave. (Sidenote: William S. Preston, Esquire was a very handsome man. I meant this as a compliment and this woman looked at me as if I had kidnapped her children. Don’t fuck with the David. Lesson learned.)
Next stop is the Duomo. Just as I had left it. Beautiful as all h-e-double hockey sticks. We looked around and we exited, then walked passed the Basilica where Dante Alighieri was baptized and even his house!! Then made our way to Piazza Signoria which is probably my favorite Piazza. In this piazza you will find a replica of the David, as well as a sculpture of Neptune in a puddle of water holding something and then Jay’s favorite which was Persius holding Medusa’s head…aaahhh the connection he must have felt with that one…
We decide to skip the Uffizzi today and choose instead to enjoy the sun setting over the Ponte Vecchio (only bridge to withhold the bombs from the Germans in WW! And also the home and eventual secret hallway for the ever commanding Medici Family of Florence)…talk about georgeous. Seriously.
So I make reservations that night to Acqua al Due, which is a pretty amazing restaurant, not a very extensive menu, but all the essentials…farfarle with truffles and porchini mushrooms, well…at least that’s all we really cared about and then the main course which we both had. The Balsamic Steak. Yes Gaby, the Balsamic Steak! Needless to say I have had this steak once before and have not managed to get it out of my head especially when I am suddenly faced with a menu of the finest steaks from the Outback. So after dinner we get a drink at a club which ever so conveniently was across the street (yes, only one drink!) and called it a night….we have to get up early for Boticelli at the Uffizzi!
Did I mention that we stayed at this fabulous hostel? 40 euros for the night and we had our own spotless bedroom and bathroom, I mean of course we had to haggle with the guy a little, but hey it worked out!)Italy is funny, you will find the oldest hotels/hostels ever, literally built before the Renaissance but at least you know it’ll be clean.
Our last stop the next moring, after brunch on the Piazza is the Uffizzi, Jay cant wait and I am super excited once again. It’s funny, every time I see something for the second time, I feel like I didn’t appreciate it enough the first time…hmmmm…We are now on our way to see the best Rennaisance art collection anywhere I know of. Boticelli,’s “Birth of Venus” and “Spring” Leonardo DaVinci’s “Annunciation”, Artemisia Gentileschi’s depiction of Holfernus being beheaded by a couple of angry women, it was truly amazing and my favorite and not because of the violence but because Artemisia is also one of subjects of my favorite Italian novel by Anna Banti The novel “Artemisia” is riveting and I highly recommend it. Oh yea, and let me not forget the amazing Michaelangelo, Giotto as well as many m
any more… Jays favorite was the depition of the Seven Virtues by several artists including Boticelli. I think I could say with confidence that he was impressed as any well bread person should be.Florence was as georgeous as I had remembered, but all the more exciting as it was truly a joy for me to experience everything with Jay, it just added an extra something.
Its time for us to go home now. We make our way to the bus station and head back to our apartment in the beautiful medievel Siena over looking the mountains of Tuscany that we now call home…
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