We started our day with a walk through the narrow streets of the old part of Firenze (that’s what Florence is called). So many little shops, sidewalk cafes and even “wine windows” (where you can walk up, buy glass of wine then hang out on the sidewalk while you drink it).
Our first stop was Galleria dell’ Accademia di Firenze. We saw all sorts of sculptures and paintings from the late Gothic and Renaissance eras. We saw some special paintings by Giotto, Botticelli and many others.
There are also sculptures, made from plaster as well as marble. The Accademia was a school for sculpture apprentices and several pieces in varying stages of creation are on display, even some unfinished sculptures by the famous Michelangelo. The most famous of all was the original Michelangelo’s ‘David’, that was done in 1501-1504. It is 17ft high and is made of marble. The details are so impressive!
We continued on our walk through Firenze stopping to admire churches, statues, foundations and even some shops. we found ourselves at Piazza Saint Crose, with its open markets and special shops (we heard that gold jewelry and leather goods are the things to buy). After a lunch we wandered down to the river the came back and toured the Basilica Santa Crose. There are so many tombs inside, even under the floor. We were told that Firenza didn’t have a grave yard, so the be buried on consecrated land people were buried inside the basilica.
We made our way back to our hotel, then headed off to a truffle hunt and dinner at Villa Machiavelli. Yup, that’s the same Machiavelli who wrote the book “The Prince” about politics, and some believe it’s written to tell politicians how to be ruthless.
Well Behaved Kids Travel 