Firenze

Spending the weekend in Florence after the trip to Greece was a lot of fun. Kate's mom came to visit her and she took us to the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery. I hadn't yet been to the Uffizi and I hadn't gotten the opportunity to see the David either. Talk about killin' two birds with one stone!

First we went to the Uffizi Gallery, and since I have been taking the Women of the Medici class, I was very interested. There were a lot of portraits of members of the family and much of the artwork from the Renaissance depicted a few family members here and there. The Medici family commissioned much of the art during the Renaissance. They had amazing portraits of Lorenzo  il' Magnifico and Cosimo the elder, as well as a picture in the entrance of Caterina's wedding to Henry before they became King and Queen of France. I can't possibly go over all the details of the Gallery but it was huge and beautiful. The ceilings consisted of many frescos and sculptures that lined the hallways. It was really cool. I have to say though, my favorite paintings in the museum were Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Spring. I LOVE the Birth of Venus, I think it is so beautiful. The colors are still so vibrant and the piece itself is just so original and pure. I've never seen anything quite like it. Spring was beautiful too, my second favorite. I think that every person in the painting has a unique way of standing out. The most interesting parts of the painting were the dramatic differences in wardrobe to define each character and the idea that Chloris goes from spreading the flowers to transforming into Flora. Both pieces were extremely breathtaking and I was so happy to be able to see them.

Birth of Venus

Spring

Cosimo the Elder

Lorenzo il Magnifico

After the Uffizi, we all went to get pizza at a restaurant close by called Oysteria del Gatto e il Volpe. A lot of my friends and I go there every once in awhile because the food is reasonably priced and very, very good. They make their own balsamic vinegar! After hanging out for a little bit, eating, and sharing stories about Greece with Kate's mom, we made our way over to the Accademia. I was so excited to see the David I couldn't stand it. I was almost a little bit nervous because it was such a talked-up sculpture.
After touring the little parts of the gallery first, I finally made my way into the room with the David. The sculpture was absolutely INCREDIBLE! There is, without a doubt, no piece of art in the entire world like the David. It was so beautiful, so big, and so detailed. My favorite part of the sculpture was that you could see the veins on his right hand go up his arm. I couldn't believe how perfect Michelangelo was able to make this sculpture. I stared at him for a long time before I even made it into the sculpture room. The sculpture room was pretty neat, but definitely an abundance of random sculptures. They were really quite beautiful too and had amazing detail like the David, however, I was completely captivated by the David. It was so unreal! I wasn't supposed to take pictures but I snuck them anyways. I'm sorry, but I had to!

Visiting these galleries gave me a whole other perspective on Florence. Everything new I experience in this city, I gain more and more appreciation for Italy and the culture. I'm really loving it out here, it's the greatest experience of my life.