May 3 : Florence

We arrived in Florence at 1:30 and immediately headed for our hostel. As usual, it took us a little time to find our bearings, but as soon as we did we were well on our way. We shortly arrived at our hostel - PLUS Florence. With red carpet leading to the door, we were immediately optimistic. We checked-in and were approached by the PLUS Port staff - a company that arranges tours for the backpackers. We arrived on a Sunday so Monday was going to be our museum day. The PLUS Port guys informed us that all museums are CLOSED on Mondays for cleaning. They swayed us to then go on their organized trip 'The Grape Escape'. So we signed up. He headed up to our room to put our thing down. 

The "David".

Since our one day we had in Florence was not going to turn out the way we had hoped, we had to se some things on the day we arrived. Of all the museums in Florence Conor and I wanted to visit, the Accademia Gallery held top priority. After all, it does house David. The reputation of long lines in Florence had us a bit skeptical but we headed there anyways. The building itself gives nothing away, and the only indication of its resident is a small discolored plaque on the wall. If anything it looks more like a centre for troubled youth because of the graffiti and writing on the walls, a definite contrasts of the art pieces inside. The museum starts by introducing you to paintings, instruments and sculptures. Then, as you turn a corner, you become captivated by this massive sculpture that is David. As there are no cameras allowed we could not take pictures, but the images will remain etched in our memories. It is outstanding that such a sculpture has been granted such attention and survived so much abuse. (I forgot to mention that we walked right in with no line. We also had to go through a metal detector). Every person is captivated with the sculpture, some are jotting down notes while others just stare. It was memorizing. 

Afterwards we walked towards the Duomo and were captivated by that as well. It dominates the square and demands a sense if importance. From there we moved on towards the 'Fiume Arno' - It should be called the 'Dirty River' - to see the collection of bridges. We emerged at the Ponte alla Carraia and immediately searched for the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge with shops and look alike apartments. Decades ago the bridge was occupied by butchers, but since the Medici family crossed the bridge from the Palazzo Pitti to the Palazzo Vecchio they complained about the smell. They quickly had them converted to jeweler shops. We mingled on the bridge for some time and then went to dinner to a little restaurant 'Pino's'. After dinner we ate some famed gelate - waited 1/2 and hour to make sure Conor would make it (severe nut allergy) - and headed back to the hostel. We took a detour and passed by the Duomo (you can't see it too many times) and passed the old "S.S. Annunziata Basilica". Our night was ended with a game of Crazy 8's - we are really good at that now.

Our Grape Escape tour is tomorrow.