Florence - Day 3, Morning

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Originally uploaded by pdbreen.

I head out early to ensure a good spot in line to climb to the top of the duomo. I'm actually out early enough that I have time to head to a food market only to find its closed due to the holiday (Liberation Day in Italy). I return back to the duomo prior to opening with a spot near the front of the line. One thing I hate about Europe is how people don't respect one anothers place in line - you literally have to defend you're spot or others will soon be standing beside you and then in front of you. The climb first takes you to a walkway within the dome where you get a great view of the inside of the church (which, upon greater reflection still just looks like the inside of a church - perhaps I've seen a few too many churches over the years to be impressed) and a close up view of the fresco on the dome cieling. The next part of the climb is interesting as it snakes its way in between the inner and outer domes (there are actually 2 domes, one within the other) before ending at a landing that wraps around the top of the spire outside the church. Given its only a few hundred feet from the tower we climbed the first day, the views are very similar - only now with morning light instead of afternoon.
From here, it's back to the Pitti Palace. On the way, I pass the Ufizi - the line is incredible! Good thing we paid a bit extra for the guided tour with guaranteed admission. Fortunately, the line at the Pitti Palace was small and I was able to get a ticket and get inside rather quickly. The rooms in the palace are filled with art - lots and lots of art. As one of the guidebooks said, the arrangements are sometimes more about matching colors in the paintings or hanging all of the round ones together, etc. This made it hard to spot which works were more important than the others (it didn't help that I was looking at the wrong page of the guidebook). I found the inlaid tables to be the most impressive part of the collection. There were many and the designs were incredible. For example, one was a still life of shells - it had a specked reddish marble as background on which a number of of shells were created from other stones, complete with shadows and shading where appropriate. Quite amazing that the artist had the patience to find the proper colors to make it all work. On leaving the palace, the line had grown quite large - good thing I got there when I did. Now, off to the Academie to meet Ted and see Michaelangelo's David.
It's getting close to the start of the tour, but no sign of Ted (who has the receipt for the tour). A bit later he arrives - turns out he got delayed by a parade crossing - part of the Liberation celebration no doubt! Another huge line waiting to get in, but the guided tour grants us direct admission. The guide was good, but it was difficult to hear her as the museum was a bit loud. The statue was truly quite impressive - and this is after having seen at least 2 full size copies in other parts of the city. Its difficult to describe why it inspires admiration, but it truly is a "must see". There are a handful of other paintings and statues in the museum (including many plaster models from which marble carvings were made), but David is definitely the main draw.
We have a number of hours before the tour of the Ufizi starts, so we wander the streets shopping - starting with another stroll through the open market (no major purchases on this pass!). We enter a pottery store where the father makes the pottery and the son runs the store selling it. After a bit of conversation - the son being incredibly engaging in describing the process in which the pottery is made as well as helpful in selecting pieces and explaining shipping options, we both end up getting a piece that will be shipped to the US.