Today my friends of the Uffizi card officially paid for itself! Besides the fact I get right in to all the museums, which would be worth the forty euro right there, I have now been to the Boboli gardens three times, the Academia, and the Uffizi. So considering I have seen the David, Botticelli Venus, and every building-ground-garden-lavatory-church the Medici's ever lived in, I have officially seen and done everything Rick Steve's has told me to do. I would call that an accomplishment.
The Academia is fairly under-whelming. It is in a very non-descript building and is quite small, consisting of mostly gold alter paintings. My theory is they put all this boring stuff in with the David since they knew every one would go there anyways. The David really is spectacular and so large and life like!
The Uffizi is the opposite of the Academia. Located in a giant Medici palace that is literally 500 steps from my front door, it would take a full day to see it all! The Botticelli room is my favorite and I hate the Caravaggio art, but it took us an hour to simply see one floor (out of three). We were going to try to see more, but we stopped caring and figured we can go back any time for free so why push it. The art is great, but what I found even better was the murals on the ceiling and the amazing gold interlaced room which had to be a ball-room. Those Medici's sure knew how to live! To leave the Uffizi one must exit not one but seven gift shops!!!!! Seven!
I keep finding amazing little nooks and gardens and solitude in the Boboli Gardens. If they were located anywhere else it would be nothing special, but I have come to treasure the silence and escape they offer here, something which would be impossible to find otherwise.
My favorite statue is free for anyone to see and set in such a prominent place it is often overlooked. The Rape of the Sabine Women is outside the Uffizi in the Piazza Vecchio. The height and longitude of the bodies makes it an amazing piece of work, plus I have to walk past it about four times a day so it feels familiar.
Hi honey. Loved this post. I cant wait to see you in a week and go to all the places you love and are familiar with. I also want to meet the vegetable vendor, the sandwich guy, eat the best gelato in the world and wander thru the Boboli Gardens. (is Boboli Pizza named after this park/family?). See you soon!!!
ReplyDeleteSarah, girl, you are killing me. I keep getting these emails from facebook saying that you are writing on my wall but I CAN'T get on facebook to tell you that I am not getting your emails!?!
ReplyDeleteCan you send me your email address?