June 22, 2007 - Florence

Replica Statue of David in Signora Square, the original location Gelato! Ohhhh...Yummy Gelato! Chris and I in front of Ponte Vecchio We got up this morning to take a tour of the Academy of Arts, where the original David is located. We saw 5 other statues that Michelangelo had begun sculpting but never finished. And then at the end of the hall stood the David. You have never seen something so magnificent. And Michelangelo was only 26 when he began it, talking 3 years to complete it. Chris was in awe of the anatomical correctness of the sculpture. He looked so human. He was wonderful. We found out that this David stood outside for nearly 300 years. At one point, the political scene got so volatile that someone threw a desk out of the window, hit the David and broke his left arm into three pieces. They collected all of the pieces and years later it was put back together. But you can still see the cracks. Wouldn’t that make you sick! We then walked to the Duomo and Santa Croce again. I was glad that we saw them the night before and had time to explore, for we weren’t given much time to see them at this time. Chris and I had free time for the rest of the day. We walked the streets, finding ourselves back on some streets that were not geared for the tourists. It was wonderful. We walked by windows and heard people practicing their operas and music. We saw restaurants that I can only imagine were out of this world. We saw laundry strung between buildings hanging out to dry. We had a great time. We took a nap, and then went out later to do a little shopping. We bought a couple of gifts for people and just enjoyed our evening. We got back at 7:00 for dinner with our group in the hotel. It was okay, not great. Pork again. And wonderful tortellini. After that we had our family time in mom and dad’s room. Chris went for a walk outside to enjoy his last evening in Florence, and I went to bed. We’re all exhausted.