Admiring David and other masterpieces

Huh? I know, the title may be a bit misleading (although David has got it going on). But! The David I speak of isn't my David but THE David sculpted by Michelangelo like 500 years ago out of some discarded crappy piece of marble (or so the story goes).

We spent the last 4 days in Florence, Italy admiring art, art, and more art(hence the late weekly post). I'm not even a big art fan, but Florence is really amazing and we managed to pack a record number of activities into a short period of time. This including hikes in the Tuscan hillsides, visits to the major galleries, cathedrals and other spots of interest and undertaking a major eating tour of Tuscan food. I managed to have gelato 5 times, tiramisu twice and I lost count of how many pizzas and plates of pasta. Oh, and Japanese ramen (of course).

We took off Saturday afternoon from Luebeck leaving Stella in the capable hands of a wonderful American girl who Stella digs. Because flights on Ryanair are so dirt cheap, we bussed an hour to the airport and an hour from Pisa to Florence. One pleasant consequence of this roundabout traveling was seeing the leaning tower from the air - it really leans a lot.

Arriving in Florence we found our very plain, completely adequate hostel and went to dinner followed by a walk about town (and gelato). I know this sounds cliche (in fact saying it sounds cliche sounds cliche), BUT Florence is overflowing with amazing Renaissance art around every corner. It's also overflowing with something else, but I'll get to that in a moment. Just glance up (or down or sideways) and friezes of the Virgin Mary, sculptures of Zeus, and jaw-dropping architechture overwhelm. You would need a month (and a whole lot more patience than I could ever manage to summon) to take it all in.

Just a couple of highlights to avoid boring my faithful readership. The Academy of Art houses David and, again at the risk of sounding sappy and cliche, I really don't think I've ever felt anything about a work of art other than a vague sense of 'wow, that's pretty' or 'jeez, I could never in a million years muster that kind of talent'; however, David was an experience I just won't even bother trying to give words to. It would cheapen it. Just go (but not a day before your 60th birthday).

We also lost our minds for the countryside. I bet you've NEVER heard that about Tuscany - the quality of the light, the beauty of the hills, the cyprus, the climate, blah blah blah. Really, though - a showstopper to be sure. Cool, too, was climbing to the top of the main cathederal, commonly called the Duomo. 463 steps (no lifts - the signs warned over and over) to a great view of the city and the surrounding hills. Besides the great food, I also really enjoyed the Uffizi Gallery with 'many important works' by Botticelli, Da Vinci - the usual suspects.

This just sounds like an exercise in snobbery of the worst kind. So I'll leave what I liked at that. And stress to everyone that if you don't take a trip to Florence, you may die slightly less cultured (and likely thinner).

A few funny bits. The city is completely overrun (in no uncertain terms) with Americans in particular and tourists in general. I had heard that Florence is a vacation spot for many, many Americans but just as it is not possible to give David sufficient words, it is also a lost cause to describe the American situation. I can't imagine what high season must be like. There were also heaps of Asian tourists and a smattering of fellow Europeans. On the aggregate, it was just ridiculous. The absurdly narrow sidewalks were mostly impassable and the line to get into the big spots was hours long without reservations (lucky us - we had the inside tip about reservations). I felt embarrassed, too. Throngs of obnoxious, rich, badly dressed Americans mucking up and down the streets yammering loudly about nothing in particular with their money belts outside their clothes. It's enough to make you want to be French.

Did I mention the gelato? I just have to say a few words about it: creamy, light, excellent. I've never had any to compare. Now, I still love Hamburg. But, Florence (minus the hoards of tourists) has a little piece of my heart.