Florence

Much of our time in Florence was spent looking at Renaissance art in the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria dell'Accademia. My favorite painting in the Uffizi is probably Botticelli's Birth of Venus. And Michelangelo's David at the Accademia is one of the few times I've been blown away by a work of art. We weren't allowed to take photos in the museum, but here is a replica of David in a piazza.


One afternoon, we visited Santa Croce where we saw the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. On the way back to the hotel, Rob and I unintentionally ended up haggling for leather jackets. Florence is known for their leather goods, so I was browsing through some bags and jackets in a market. The salesman literally pulled us into their store which was behind the market. Rob explained that we didn't have room in our luggage for a leather jacket because we had only brought carry-ons. The salesman must have taken this as our attempt at haggling because he started dropping the price of the jacket. The more Rob tried to explain how small our luggage was, the more the salesman dropped the price. Eventually, it became too much of a bargain to pass up, and we left with his and hers leather jackets, 2 for less than the price of 1.

Michelangelo's tomb.


A view of the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio bridge from the Piazzale Michelangelo.


The Duomo in Florence with Brunelleschi's famous dome. I remember completing a 3D puzzle of this building when I was in high school.