Firenze!

Sunday was another early start since we were headed to Florence, one of the great cultural cities of Italy. Our first adventure of the day was just driving into the city and finding parking. Luckily the guidebook told us where parking was and the GPS told us how to get there. I can’t imagine driving in an Italian city while trying to follow a conventional map or directions. Many a spousal argument must have started this way.

We were parked a good distance from the center of town, which led to a bit of a walk and us being temporarily lost. Once we found the river we got our bearings, but there for a second we had no clue where we were.

Walking along the north side of the river we saw the famed bridge with apartments and shops lining it. We avoided it like the plague since it was teeming with tourists of every nationality. Wife and I are of the opinion that there should be a tourist exam. Those who pass the exam would be given an identity card giving them special access to tourist destinations that have been restricted because some idiot couldn’t keep from touching the paintings or defacing the ancient masonry. Yes, we’re snobs, but if you’ve been run over by as many tour groups as Wife has and not been able to get to really cool things to see because some bozo screwed it up for everybody else as I’ve come across you might feel the same.

Rant over, continuing with Florence. Turning north we passed the Uffizi Museum. Wife was very excited to get into it, but we decided to wait since the line was extremely long. Instead we headed for the square to the north and then to the piazza where the cathedral is.

It’s hard to get a sense for how big the cathedral actually is because the city presses in on it from every side. Only when you go inside can you feel how huge it is. Ornate does not even begin to describe the carvings and decoration on the outside. Looking at the cathedral left no doubt in mind that Florence was truly a center of the Renaissance.

After attending Mass in the cathedral (it was in Italian but we got the gist), we made our way to the museum with the statue of David by Michelangelo. There wasn’t much else to see, but the almost hour wait was well worth it just for the one statue. The size of the carving is what strikes you first. I would guess it is close to 15 feet tall, and the carving is from one piece of marble.

As you get closer, the next thing that strikes you is how immaculately detailed the features are. Veins bulge through the skin, finger and toe joints show the customary wrinkles and muscles ripple beneath the surface. Wife also mentioned certain endowments Michelangelo gave David, but we won’t go into that here.

Finally the realization dawns on you that this statue was carved from a single block of marble and still contains an amazing amount of detail. I was overwhelmed.

Considering what a strong chord David struck with me it’s no surprise the Uffizi didn’t impress me nearly as much. Waiting in line two hours didn’t help (did I mention that the lines at attractions in Florence are only rivaled by Disney World?), but we were definitely going since Wife hadn’t been able to go when she had been to Florence previously. She’s much more into art than I am so we weren’t missing it. There were some very nice pieces, but I had a hard time getting into it. Wife thoroughly enjoyed it. I think when we go back to Tuscany for my wedding present (a week at a cooking school), I’m sending her to Florence for at least a day just to go to the Uffizi.

Since we were nearly exhausted at this point we headed back to the car. The piazza on the south side of the river that supposedly offers stunning views of the center of Florence would have to wait for another time.

Warning: food details for the rest of the post. We hadn’t had much to eat the whole day so we decided to go to a restaurant that we had seen earlier. The risotto choices jumped out at us since we hadn’t had any risotto yet on the trip. It didn’t disappoint.

For antipasto we shared a plate of mixed bruschetta. I didn’t realize before this trip how much of a bruschetta fiend Wife is. I made sure to get my share quickly or it was gone. For primi I had risotto with Gorgonzola while Wife had the wild mushroom version. Hers was lighter and earthy, just what makes mushroom risottos great. Mine was rich and creamy and absolutely delicious. Despite being famished when we got there the risottos were filling enough that neither of us wanted anything more. I was disappointed because Bistecca alla Fiorentina would have to wait for another day.

Frog