Italy Trip 2004
(Sept 21st - Oct 3rd)
FRIDAY OCTOBER 1, 2004
I can't believe it's October already. Before I know it, it will be 2005.
The plan for today was to see Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia, The Birth of Venus at the Uffizi and visit Piazzale Michelanelo for a good view of the city.
Since the Galleria dell'Accademia was only a few minutes from the hostel, it was our first stop. There were two decent sized lines waiting to enter. One was for people with reservations, which the other was for people without. We didn't have reservations and got in the appropriate line.
It only took 15 minutes before we were in the gallery. It's a rather small place, mainly filled with religious paintings. Most of the people visiting the gallery are only there to see Michelangelo's David.
Michealandelo's David is the centerpiece of the second room. The first thing you notice is the immense size. It apparently measures 17' tall.
They are EXTREMELY strict with photography in the gallery. They won't even let you hold your camera. As in the Sistine Chapel, I wasn't going to let that stop me.
Because of the way I had to take these pictures, the statue isn't in focus. That's the price you pay for covert photos.
After seeing the rest of the gallery, we made our way to the Uffizi museum. The line to enter was huge. A digital sign at the entrance displayed the anticipated wait time .... 1.5 hours! Since we were only really interested in seeing a single painting, we decided not to wait around.
Our next stop was Piazzale Michelangelo. To get there, we took a side street which took us through a residential area with extremely steep streets.
To reach the square, we were greeted with what seemed like a never ending set of stairs. After all the walking we've done over the past two weeks and the climb we had just completed through the residential area, the stairs were not a welcome sight.
Before reaching the square, we stopped at a little restaurant for a drink and a bathroom break. You had to pay this old guy sitting at the door to use the washroom. For 50 cents, I had the pleasure of using this.
The weather in Florence has been cloudy and gray since we arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, that doesn't help when trying to take nice pictures of the city. Here's the view once we reach the square.
At the center of the square, there is a replica of Michelangelo's David.
On our was back, we found an international outdoor market at Piazza Santa Croce. There were vendors selling everything from perfume to sausages. I bought some great Belgian chocolates from one of the vendors.
We also popped in to a few local stores. Unlike Venice, there isn't much here that's a 'must buy'. That's a very good thing because I'm out of money. I'll have to use a bank machine if I want to eat these next two days. This will be the second time I'll have withdrawn money. By the end of the trip, I thing I'll have spent 700 Euro. It's a little more than I was planning on, but I guess it's not too bad for 13 days in Italy.
Before grabbing dinner, we stopped at a local grocery store. I bought some pasta and pesto sauce. I figured it made more sense to buy food from a regular grocery store instead of the specialty stores where a small bottle of pesto is 6 Euro or higher.
We found a nice restaurant just down the street from the hostel. I had crepes stuffed with spinach in a cheese sauce, roasted chicken with potatoes and creme caramel.
Went back to the hostel and called it a night. Tomorrow, we're heading back to Rome.
