Florence Is for Art Lovers

This morning, Tim and I were “forced” to get up early to make it to our tour meeting point by 10:00 am. Yes, I know, that’s not early, but it has been for us. We skipped breakfast at the hotel and stopped at a small café for coffee and croissants. That was a much more appropriate breakfast than what we had at the hotel yesterday.

For anyone who loves art, Florence is a perfect city to visit. The city is filled with museums, but the Academia and the Uffizi Galleries are clearly the stars. Tim and I had originally planned to tour the museums on our own, but a few days ago, I decided to book a tour. Walks of Italy offers a “Florence In A Day with David, Duomo, Uffizi and Walking Tour,” and that’s what we signed up for. A walking tour in addition to the museums sounded like a perfect idea.

We met our guide and started our tour at the Academia Gallery, where we “met” Michelangelo’s David. Our guide, whose name I unfortunately cannot remember, filled us in on the genius behind the sculpture and its significance. She also gave us an insight into Michelangelo’s methods when we viewed the unfinished Slaves sculptures.

Michelangelo's David

One of the Slaves, and Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna

After a short time on our own at the Academia, we then began our walking tour, starting at the Duomo, Florence’s grand cathedral, with its magnificent Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. We continued on, exploring the winding streets and art-strewn piazzas that give the city its distinct character. We stopped at the famous Palazzo Vecchio and spent time admiring the beautiful outdoor sculptures at Piazza Della Signoria.

Walking Tours Can Be Tiring!

Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza Della Signoria

After breaking for lunch, we walked across the Ponte Vecchio, the city’s only bridge spared from destruction during World War II. Sadly, the experience was nothing like I remembered from my last visit. To me, the bridge, with its shops over and across the span, is the definition of a tourist trap. Next time, I’ll skip walking across the bridge and just admire its beauty from afar.

Our View of the Ponte Vecchio on Yesterday's Tour (top), with Today's Walk Across the Bridge

It was then time for our visit to the Uffizi Gallery, where it was so nice to skip the long lines waiting to get in, certainly one advantage of joining a tour.

Uffizi Gallery from the River, and Its Beautiful Painted Ceilings

Our guide, a passionate art historian, gave us an amazing lesson in the history of art, explaining and demonstrating how painting techniques developed over the course of several centuries. She led us through a series of paintings that illustrated how the flat, two-dimensional paintings of the Medieval era evolved into the beautiful three dimensions of the Renaissance.

I found it interesting to learn later on that most guides seem to follow this same sequence of paintings, so I decided it might be fun to include all of the paintings we viewed in chronological order.  I won't, however, identify each one.

We Saw the Evolution of Painting from the Early 1300s to the Mid-1400s

Botticelli's Paintings Are So Well-Known and Were My Favorites

We Progressed from Works by Leonardo da Vinci to Michelangelo to Raphael to Titian

We Ended Our Tour with Works by Gentileschi, Caravaggio, and Van Honthorst

Since Tim and I had split a sandwich for lunch, I was hungry after our tour, and I talked him into stopping for antipasti. We ordered two selections, not realizing how extensive they would be. I had been missing fresh fruit, and the melon with prosciutto was especially welcome. Our shared “cold cuts” plate was outrageous, but so good. I started with a glass of house wine and ended up asking for a “refill.” There was no way we could finish our plate, and we offered it to the folks who had sat down next to us. We had started a conversation with them, and we were happy to share. They seemed to enjoy it.

So Much Food! We Kept an Eye on the Case of Florentine Steaks While We Ate!

I never in a million years thought I would spend our last two nights in a bar, but that’s exactly what we did. The bar at our hotel had become a favorite place to occupy our evenings. Since we had a huge selection of antipasti earlier, we were so full that we didn’t need to eat dinner. After resting for a while, we headed back downstairs to the hotel bar. Once again, we sat at the bar, and Adorno was the head mixologist tonight. We had an amazing time with him, watching him make our special mocktails and cocktails. 

To top things off, he mentioned that he had always wanted to make a tiramisu cocktail, and we encouraged him to do so tonight. He ordered a tiramisu desert and used half of it to start the drink. Watching him perfect the recipe and instruct Oliver on what should be added was fascinating. He made it up as he went along, including a fire episode, and the result was beautiful, as well as delicious. He also served it in one of his grandmother’s special glasses.

How To Make a Tiramisu Cocktail

Pasquale, the bar manager, came by frequently, and he supported everything the bartenders were doing. I invited him to sample my drink, and he agreed that it was perfection.

It’s funny how things turn out. Although I will always remember the beauty, history, and art of Florence, one of my most favorite memories will be the interaction we had with the restaurant and bar staff at our hotel. It was such a personal experience and one that I will treasure. Who would have thought?