Pieces of Art...

The day is finally here. THE day that Ross and Caroline have been counting down the hours and minutes to arrive - - - ART DAY!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Seriously, I am dragging my travel weary group to 2 (yes TWO) major Art Museums today. The first is Accademia to see "David," then it's on to Uffizi for a 1 1/2 hour tour.

 The Uffizi houses the world's largest collection of Renaissance art - Michaelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci etc. And all we can laugh about is references to Ninja Turtles.... Please send happy thoughts our way! : )

Another quick note re: Florence - - - if you enjoy the smell of feline urine, then this is the place for YOU!!! Not sure why? But Florence has some very distinct sights, sounds, and er aromas that take some getting used to (to say the least).

And in a weak effort to be humorous, I started to try and tie in Florence Henderson, Florence Nightingale, Florence and the Machine, and Florence of Arabia - unable at this early hour to use any of the above. But if anyone has any clever suggestions, I'm open and eager to hear. Ha! Ciao!

UPDATE!!!!

David - check!

We got there at our allotted 8:15AM reservation time, and we walked right in.

 We immediately went to find "David," and he was pretty astounding.

 The statue itself is much larger than I thought, and the detail was amazing. Not much else to see at that museum, but we strolled around a bit, shopped in the art store there and left. There were probably 100s of people waiting in line to get in as we were leaving. Advance booking is key to it being a pleasant experience.



Then another stroll - around the Duomo before the crazy crowds move in.

Here's another fun side of Florence - gypsy beggarwomen...

Then we headed to a cafe for a small breakfast, and we left Ross to have another caffe:

Now it's Uffizi in a couple of hours, and then Kriss arrives from Geneva after that!!!

UPDATE:

Uffizi - check!

Someone's had too much PASTA and GELATO!:

It's 4:10PM here. Some people climb the Matterhorn; others run marathons; some people skydive; others swim the English Channel. The Bogues conquered 2 art galleries in 1 day and lived to tell the story...

Kriss has arrived in Florence and we're hooking up in a bit.

Downtime now - - - sensory overload...

Our Uffizi guide:

Not to be confused with Hans from "Die Hard:"

Cousin Kriss is headed our way, and we have recovered, er, I mean, have been rejuvenated from our "Art Day" - excited to see her, and we are ready for yet another fabulous meal.

 We have reservations at a classic Tuscan gem in Florence - Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapora. We are about to look like a Botticelli original oil painting...only a matter of time.




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Yay! We hooked up with Kriss, our adorable cousin, and we had another amazing dinner at Vini e Vecchi Sapora in Florence. Our waiter, Thomas, was perfect, and the dinner was absolutely devine. We had a blast!

Tomorrow - - - Siena and wine touring. Rough, I know...