It was time for another day in the city of ART! Off to the Accademia to see one of the most famous sculptures in the world - THE DAVID! We met Fadi and his son, Vinnie, and then went on our way. It wasn't a long walk from our hotel.
Inside the Accademia, we went first to see the collection of ancient musical instruments. Of course they had some of the usual - violins, violas, cellos, etc. (The most famous string instruments in the world are Italian - Stradivarius and Guarnerius. ) I didn't take pictures of them as they didn't seem unusual. However, I did find a few instruments that I thought were out of the ordinary.
If you do a Google search of the most famous sculptures in the world, number 1 on EVERY list that I found was THE DAVID by Michelangelo. Fadi appropriated my camera and took about 10 pictures of the David and every part of his anatomy. I'm only going to show 2 of the pictures and a picture of a modern version of the David that currently stands in a courtyard of the Accademia.
Italy is a favorite tourist destination. It is literally wall to wall tourists. Look at the crowds filling the streets. Below left is just outside the cathedral. The center picture is on the Ponte Vecchio and the picture on the right shows the line waiting to get a ticket for the Accademia.
Fortunately, Fadi knew his way around and we went to the front of the line!
<-- Granny and Fadi
Son Vinnie -->
We also visited the Medici Chapels which are part of the Church of San Lorenzo. Here again we have magnificent sculptures by Michelangelo.
Yes, we were really there! Below are two pictures of the inside of the cupola. It is a magnificent octagonal structure. The frescoes are by Pietro Benvenuti.
Dome of the Church of San Lorenzo as seen from one of the terraces of our hotel.
As we walked, I would see things that amused me. Of course I had to have a picture of David's Outlet Factory. The knobs of the left are DOORBELLS!
One morning, Granny and I were on our own and decided to visit the Boboli Gardens. We took a cab from the hotel and he dropped us off at one of the entrances to the gardens. This adventure may have been a mistake for us. We walked and rested, walked and rested, walked and rested. We had no idea of where we were going but took a main path that was a LONG uphill battle. Once on the top, we rested in a small park like area that had an interesting "giant head" sculpture.
Looking back down the hill we climbed!
The Pitti Palace from the Boboli Gardens
Our tickets weren't good fo the Pitti Palace but they did admit us to the Costume Museum. It was a small, but interesting, museum of women's fashions over the ages including some more modern era designs. No Pictures.
