Day three of our Italy trip turned out a little bit better than the first two days. Waking up to sore legs from climbing the Duomo dome the day before, we knew that we needed to have a light schedule for this day. We only had one thing on our agenda today, Michelangelo’s David. We had to be at the Accademia Gallery at 10:30 for our assigned spot in the line. The rest would be spent sightseeing and exploring Florence.
As always, we researched the best way to get in to see the famous statue and we found that it was in our best interest to do everything online. We actually had scheduled and prepaid several weeks prior to our trip. Our time slot was 10:30 a.m. that morning. I would always recommend researching what it is you want to go and see and make sure you can reserve a spot in line. This will save you so much time and frustration. Most tourist attractions will allow you to book reservations online days or weeks ahead of time. Some attractions book up so fast that you have to book exactly a month out as you will read in future articles.
Having just started our day we were a bit on the hungry side. We knew approximately where the Accademia was in relation to our apartment. Florence is relatively a small city and our apartment was only two blocks over and one block up. We started off in that direction with the purpose of looking for breakfast. After walking down a few streets and a few back alleys we found a corner cafe. Looking at the menu, we decided that this wasn’t what we were looking for. Nothing wrong with the place, just that the food was a little out of our comfort zone and we decided to keep looking.
The great thing about just walking around with time to kill is you do get to see some things that just might not be found on the regular tourist routes. This was no exception. We found a few places that if we ever return that we should go and see. We found the Museo di San Marco which is a 15th century convent art museum, and Santissima Annunziata di Firenze. The latter being an amazing church with amazing frescoes. If you get a chance, please go see these. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time or opportunity to do so, but we will if we ever go back.
After a few more turns, up a couple of streets, down another street and through a very sketchy alleyway, we found another cafe that had a more pleasant atmosphere. I ordered a pistachio cannoli and a coke and my wife ordered a croissant and a cappuccino. Neither breakfast item is unique to Florence but tasty just the same. We sat and ate our very minimal breakfast and did a little people watching. I think as being tourists ourselves it’s ok to sit and watch as people walk by just looking lost and having no clue as to where they are going. We’ve been there ourselves. Full of sugar and flaky doughy goodness, it was time to make our way to our appointment at the Accademia. We only had about a block and a half to walk and we could see the entrance to the Accademia. We were about 20 minutes early for our scheduled time slot so we stood to the side of the street. We were not the only ones waiting.
There were three lines to cue up in. One line was for those that didn’t have a reservation and this went down the block and wrapped around the building. The second line was for groups. Not groups like I have a family of ten type of group, but groups where individuals paid for a company to be their tour guide for the day. The third line was for pre-booked tickets like we had where we went online and booked ahead of time. At the beginning of this line is a placard that has a time written on it. You were not allowed to cue up in this line unless you had a reservation for this time and only this time. If you are early you have to wait to the side and are not allowed to cue up in the ropes. If you are late I think they will work with you and let you in within reason, but they were very strict with us and wouldn’t let us in a half an hour early.
While waiting, the area was filled with scam artists that would try to guilt you into giving coins to them. One of the scams that is prevalent all over the city but is concentrated in this area because of the amount of people and the narrowness of the street is what I call the “artist”. These are the scammers that lay 8 large pieces of paper with art printed on them in the middle of the street. What they want you to do is to step on them. If you do, they have “helpers” standing by that will surround you and muscle you into buying the print. These people are ruthless. I saw this with my own eyes and the police didn’t do anything about it as far as I saw.
The other scam artist that I saw was a woman dressed up in rags with a picture of a child and a can that she shoved in your face. They don’t speak to you, they just show you the picture and put the can out for you to give. I didn’t necessarily have an issue with this per say. What I had an issue with is that I was asked by the same individual about six times in a matter of half an hour. They are relentless and do not give up easily.
I only say this not to disparage the scammers but to give you, the reader, a heads up and the information you need if you ever plan to go to Florence, Italy. Just beware that there are individuals that will try to take advantage of you whatever the cost.
When our time was displayed on the placard we got in line and were soon ushered inside the building where we went through security. Our bags were looked through and we had to walk through metal detectors but we were inside within a reasonable amount of time. We then entered a room filled with art on the walls and a statue in the middle of the floor. Once through that room you then turn the corner and you enter a long corridor. Along both sides of the corridor are chunks of marble where unfinished carvings by Michelangelo are available for viewing. What everyone has come to see is at the end of the corridor. There it stands, Michelangelo’s David. Standing 17 feet tall, it towers over everyone in the room. It is as tall as a two story building and weighs almost as much as a fully grown elephant (12,500 lbs).
Amazingly, you can get very close and get some great selfies and photos of you and your loved ones. We had unlimited time to take all the photos and selfies we wanted. There was a couple in front of us that was trying to take some selfies so I offered to take their photos and in return they did the same for us. I don’t know if the unlimited time was due to it being off season for tourists but it was good that we had all the time that we wanted to make sure we took in all the Accademia had to offer. I was able to do a video chat with one of my coworkers who was supposed to be at work covering for me only to find out he was home sick in bed. He enjoyed the video chat nonetheless.
At this time I started noticing some pain in my lower back and other areas, more about this later on our trip as the pain becomes a factor. I decided to sit down and relax a bit and let my wife go ahead and explore a bit more. She left me on a bench in the gift shop as she drifted out of sight. After a while I decided that I was going to try to walk it off. I got up and found that there was an upstairs section that we totally missed on our way in. On the second floor was a glass case that went the length of a room and inside was a magnificent tapestry. Sad to say as a blogger, I don’t recall exactly who made the tapestry or what was on it. All I know is that it made quite the impression on me and that one day I would like to go back and spend some more time looking at it.
My wife and I had walked right past each other. She was heading for the gift shop to find me and I was upstairs looking for her. We ended up having to text each other “where are you?” Eventually we reunited back at the gift shop. Having paid for our souvenirs we exited and immediately decided that we hadn’t spent enough time inside and that we wanted to go back. There were other things we wanted to fit in during our time in Florence, so off we went to see what else we could fit in.
All roads in Florence pretty much lead to the Duomo. Most tourist foot traffic flows that way in the morning and afternoon. If you are ever in Florence and you think you might be lost, just follow the crowds and eventually you will end up at the Duomo in the city center and that is what we did because it was there that we had our next adventure. We were going to visit a church under a church, or in this case under the Duomo.
We had purchased a pass online from the Opera Di santa Maria Del Fiore that gave us access to multiple sites including the dome climb, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Opera del Duomo Museum, the Santa Reparata subterranean exhibit, and the Baptistry of St. John. Since we were right there after our underground excursion we decided to do the baptistry and knock it off our list of things to do. The only thing on this pass that you have to schedule is the dome climb, from there you have 72 hours to use the pass to enjoy the other monuments in the Piazza del Duomo.
In many cases a church or a cathedral in medieval times were the center of the city. Many times a place of worship would be built on the site of a previous house of worship. The Florence Duomo is no exception to this. Matter of fact, the current Duomo sits on top of four previous churches. After a major archeological dig that ended in 1973 the remains of the basilica of Santa Reparata were found. As there are no exact records to how old Santa Reparata is or when the construction started, it is generally believed that what you see in the subterranean excavation dates back to around 300 – 400 A.D. Also found during the excavation was the tomb of Fillippo Brunellechi, most famously known as the architect of the dome on top of the Duomo.
Inside the baptistry was nothing unusual. There was a sense of simplicity. The room has pretty elegant walls lined with white and green marble. There is the tomb of Antipope John XXIII sculpted by Donatello which is amazing to look at. The two things that must come to see at the baptistry are the ceiling and the doors. The ceiling called “The Last Judgment” is a mosaic telling biblical stories. The doors to the baptistry are amazing to look at. There are three sets of doors. Each is distinctly different and beautiful in their own unique way. Unfortunately the original doors are kept at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo which is at the back end of the Duomo. We didn’t get to go into the museum, but I would like to next time we are in Florence.
Right on the corner of one of the main avenues that runs parallel with Duomo is the palace of Riccardi Medici. While Florence is considered the birthplace of the renaissance, the Medici palace is considered by many historians to be the actual epicenter of the renaissance. We had not planned on visiting this attraction, it was not on our itinerary, but we had passed by many times and we had some time to spare so we decided why not. I’m glad that we did. Being able to see the lifestyle people of that time enjoyed is an eye opener. Though they did live a life of luxury, and I am aware that many in the era didn’t have the money or fancy clothes, it is still fascinating nonetheless to see the richly decorated walls filled with tapestries and vividly painted ceilings.
After a full day of walking and the climb to the top of the Duomo, I had to find a place that sold shoes. I had come to the conclusion that I had brought the wrong pair of shoes. We found a Footlocker and I popped in and got some insoles. They helped a bit, but I was still in a lot of pain. Right next door was a restaurant that I had seen on YouTube several times while doing my research. Best known for its Florentine steak, I knew I had to give it a try. I made a dinner reservation for later in the evening. We went back to the apartment and took a little nap. It was nice that the apartment was just down the street a few blocks away.
When it was time for our dinner reservation we were refreshed and ready to hit the town for a night out. Off to dinner we went. I was really looking forward to eating at this restaurant. I had anticipated eating here for several months. We arrived and were immediately seated. I ordered the steak but when it came to my wife she was told that they had run out of all pasta dishes so she settled for a mushroom risotto since she doesn’t eat steak. The bad thing is, she doesn’t like mushrooms as well, but she knew I had anticipated this for so long she humored me. Our meal arrived and she was not impressed with the risotto and so we nicely asked for it all to be boxed up. As we were checking out they were kind enough to send us on our way with a nice bottle of red wine. Since we’ve already experienced the Duomo Cafe from the night before we decided to go there again. Our same waiter from the night before recognized us and immediately started attending to us. We told him about our previous experience at the steak house and he immediately made our night better by giving us the best service we could ask for.
Day three was now coming to a close. We saw some of the most beautiful art, ate some great food and drank some fabulous wine. Although my back and legs were hurting, we were loving life and enjoying our trip. Sad to say we still had not had any gelato. The best, and worst, was still to come.
