Florence

We have been in Florence since Sunday and today is our final full day. Tuesday we went to the Accademia to see The David and other works by Michelangelo. There truly are no words to describe this work of art. I could've stood there for hours marveling at how beautiful and perfect it was. First off, it was a lot bigger than I imagined, I don't know why, but I had it in my head it was more life sized than it was. Just the base the statue stands on is taller than me, I think the whole piece must be 15 feet tall. They have benches and chairs for you to sit down at because otherwise everyone would just crowd around the statue. I have no idea how Michelangelo was able to envision the look of the statue from just looking at a block of marble, and at the age of 29 I think. The statue took 3 years for him to complete, but I will remember it for a lifetime.

Last night we had the best dinner by far in this city at a small restaurant that was a simple wooden door on a brick wall. We ate a steak a la Flourentine. It was soooo good, and HUGE, you split it for two people. The steak that was fabulous with an awesome crust on the outside and perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper. Our waiter helped choose a wine to go with it and since we're in Tuscany we chose a Chianti.

We followed that up with a raspberry, marscopone cheese tart and a dessert wine. It was well worth the 15 minute walk and getting lost a few times along the way! Today we will go to the Uffizi Gallery to see my favorite painter's most well known work, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus...we're also going to try to take a bus out to Pisa, about an hour away to see the leaning tower, then off to Venice on Thanksgiving!

Florence's Dumo and the ceiling inside