Day 12 Florence and Michelangelo's David
Today they have a special market in Venice. The market on the other side of Rialto has fish today! There are fish in this market on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Therefore Monday is the worst day you can have a fish meal in Venice because it is two days old.

​Dimitri recommended that we visit the market this morning before our departure. For that reason he pushed back our departure time to 9:00. Emily had been to the market before so she was going to finish packing up her bag and slowly enjoy her breakfast. Mom and I ate and then prepared to leave. Herb, a fellow group member, overheard us and asked if he could join us. Soon the three of us were outside the door to our hotel and preparing to find the Rialto. Thankfully some signs are posted showing the way to certain landmarks. However it still seems like there are a lot of ways that you can go where you get lost.

I took the lead on our adventure, following the signs and improvising when I could. Finally we emerged just a couple streets down from the Rialto. From there we crossed the Grand Canal. Even then everything still seemed to be all closed up. We continued on, cutting through an empty courtyard and finally walking out into another courtyard where stalls laden with fruits and vegetables could be seen. There were some souvenir carts setting up closer to the entrance, but we walked on since we were more interested in seeing the market. 

They had pretty much everything that you would need to have a wonderful meal! There were fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, and of course fish! We took some time winding through the market, but keeping an eye on the time so that we could allow ourselves plenty of time to get lost and find our way once more. We saw the fancy pastas and pasta seasonings. Then finally at the back of the market, closer to the water we saw the fish. They had little fish, like sardines. They had octopus, cuttlefish, shrimp, crabs, snails (still alive and crawling all over the scoop). It was all pretty neat!
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Finally we had to drag Herb away from the stands. We wanted to get back in time to meet the group so we did not have to make them wait. I took the lead once more, choosing the same path we had taken before. Flawlessly I was able to lead us back to the hotel, much to the surprise of Herb and Mom. I was even given the title "The Walking GPS" by Herb. Haha!
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Soon the group was gathered once more, luggage in hand, out in the square just down the alley from our hotel. After confirming that everyone was present with one of our "buddy checks" and "meaningful eye contact" we then made our way back toward the Rialto where we would catch the vaporetto that would take us back to the area where we left the bus. Much to our pleasure the vaporetto was pretty much empty and so we were able to snag seats. This made the trip back to the "station" much more enjoyable. 

Eventually we reached our destination and came around to the parking lot where we had left Richard and the bus the day before yesterday. Richard had mentioned something about working on his day off. When we spotted the bus we knew exactly what he had been talking about. The bus was glistening in the sunlight. He had given his baby a good bath so that it sparkled like new. The windows were clean too, which really makes a difference. I felt bad as I climbed in, picked my seat, a window seat, and leaned against the window looking out. Simultaneously I also smeared some sunscreen on the window. I tried to wipe it off, but it was not too long before there was another sunscreen smudge. Oops!

We cruised through the Italian countryside for a couple hours before stopping for lunch at an autogrill. Deciding that lunch was a good idea we went upstairs to see what they had warm and ready to go. The three of us decided upon a three pasta dish. It was delicious! There was a ravioli, a pasta with tomato sauce, and a mac and cheese like pasta. Very yummy! Emily also selected a delicious dessert, a chocolate covered cheesecake. Downstairs in the store I purchased a bag of mini chocolate filled croissants. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! Seriously I think that is my favorite treat I have purchased so far! It was a great lunch and a great couple desserts! 
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Another couple hours of driving and we found ourselves immersed in the center of Italy's Florence. Similar to Venice there are areas within this city where cars don't drive. Some of the areas where cars are allowed are still much too small for our bus. We had to walk just a little way to our hotel, Hotel Accademia. We were urged to bring all of our luggage with us to the hotel unless it was something that we could part with for a few days. We will have a different bus driver from Florence to Rome. Richard, in accordance with the law, has to rest the bus for 48 hours after spending so much time driving. He will meet us in Rome, but he will not drive us there. So once again we dragged our luggage down a few streets. The thunderous sound of our rolling tires filled the streets. 

Once we reached the hotel we had to climb this roundabout stairway to get to the front desk. That was killer with our large bags (packing more lightly is sounding pretty great right about now!). Eventually, however, we were soon inside our room and settling in just a little before returning to the streets with Dimitri for an orientation walk. 

On our orientation walk we spotted some lovely sights. Just around the corner from the hotel we found an old church, the Basilica di San Lorenzo. This seemed to be a popular place for people to sit on the steps, meet and talk. Down a nearby street we could see a marketplace where they were selling scarves, leather, jewelry, hats, etc. Just glancing down that one street I understood why Richard recommended that we waited to purchase scarves until we got to Florence. There are little shops everywhere!

We walked down a street until we reached a square with a carousel, Piazza Della Repubblica. I loved the carousel! So lovely! There was music in this square, and art on the street. Dimitri told us that we could find an ATM through the arch to the first block. From there turn right and walk down a little way. That was very helpful information to keep in mind! 

Just a couple blocks down from the Piazza Della Repubblica was Piazza della Signoria. This was a very busy square as it had a lot to look at. Piazza della Signoria is the gateway to the Uffizi Gallery which is located between the Palazzo Vecchio ("old palace" and current city hall), and the Loggia dei Lanzi (Loggia dei Signoria) which is an open air sculpture gallery. Near the Palazzo Vecchio there is a fountain called the Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati. There is so much to see here, however due to reservations we had to keep moving along.

Just a couple of blocks away we entered into yet another piazza (there are so many!). Piazza del Duomo houses the Florence Cathedral which is otherwise called Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of St. Maria of the flower). This is a very unique looking Cathedral. Unlike the typical yellowed color of bricks this building is white with striking green and red/orange highlights. The front entryway is also glistening with golden accents. This church is well known for its large dome which you can pay to walk up to. I personally was happy to just look at it from the front. A short way from the front door of the cathedral is the Florence Baptistery which was covered in scaffolding except for the doors. The doors to the Baptistery were incredible to say the least. Word on the street says that the Pope is coming to Florence in November. By then the city will be glistening and the scaffolding will be down.
Dimitri pointed out the direction we would need to take in order to get back to the area leading to our hotel. We did not take that road though as we were led down another alley. Along the way we were shown true graffiti (picture to the left). This image consists of scratches and paints which were used to create this lovely image upon a wall.

Who ever knew that graffiti could be so beautiful?​
Eventually we found our way to the Accademia Gallery which is the home of Michelangelo's David. It was absolutely incredible to see David in person. To get into the Gallery you have to go through a security line where they scan your bag as they do at the airport. Once you get through Security you can then walk into the gallery. You come around a corner and at the end of the hall you see David! David was created by a 26 year old Michelangelo between the years of 1501 and 1504. At the time he was the most well known and best paid artist. It is a depiction of David just before his battle with Goliath. Twice a day for 40 days Goliath set forth a challenge from the Israelites. David volunteered. He entered into the battle with nothing more than some stones from the river, a sling, and his faith in God and courage. His enemy, Goliath, was armed with armor and shield. 
David fires the stone which hits Goliath in the forehead causing him to fall. David then cuts off his head. Many statues depicting this story showcase David's victory, however Michelangelo's portrayal of David is just before he shoots off the stone. If you catch the angle just right then you can see that he is tense, concentrating hard on what he must do. Despite the concentration you can see in his expression he is relaxed but on alert as shown by his posture. Despite what his story tells us, I still feel as if there could be some hint of fear or apprehension in his expression.
Initially David was supposed to be placed in the Cathedral of Florence. When David was unveiled they decided that the 14 foot statue was too perfect to be placed up high where it could not be enjoyed. After a long debate it was then decided that David would be placed in the Piazza della Signoria. It took 40 men to move the statue half a mile to its new location. In 1873 the statue was moved from the Piazza to the Accademia Gallery in order to save it from further damage. The room that David is in was built just for him, to showcase his gloriousness. He really, truly was absolutely incredible!

The rest of the Accademia was filled with a few paintings and a variety of lovely statues and busts. In the hallway leading to David there were other Michelangelo statues. Some were completed and others were incomplete. It was very amazing to see some of his work in person. Looking at the beauty and the reality of these works is absolutely incredible! It is one thing to look at a picture, but seeing the thing in person is just incredible.
After the Accademia we were free to venture out on our own. We came back to the square with the carousel in our search for one of the gelato shops that Emily remembered from her visit. It was a really groovy place full of bright neon lights and delicious gelato! I decided upon black cherry and nutella gelato. Mom went with double lemon gelato and claimed that it was too much lemon, even for her. Emily got licorice and lemon gelato.

After some delicious gelato we headed back toward our room to relax. Tomorrow we have the morning free before we go to the Uffizi gallery. It should be an exciting day! Arrivederci!