Travelogue-Part 3 Florence

The weather was unstable..

we left Rome at the perfect time..

just before they had a tornado..

but Florence was not spared,

the river below is the 

Arno.

What is normally quite calm ...

became a sea of mocha..

these were photos that I shot on the way in to town..

in the morning..

and you can still see the green river bank on the other side..

by the time we left 

the brown water writhed from side to side of the block wall..

Our guide took us to 

Santa Croce Square

which was lovely..

and pointed out several sights

we had some time for shopping 

Santa Croce, and the square in Florence...

and then because time was short,

we headed to the Uffizi Gallery

which had been on my list of "must sees" 

from the time I was a young teenager..

two special artists 

had work in the Gallery

and

Filippo Lippi, Madonna and child with two Angels, Uffizi Gallery 

oddly enough they not only knew each other but 

they were teacher and student..

which was something I had not known.. 

Filippo Lippi

and 

Sandro Botticelli

If you have time to view my 

YouTube

channel and watch 

An Artist in Europe,

I have stories about both of these artists..

one thing I failed to mention in the video was

that I was interested in seeing the Botticelli works

specifically the 

Birth of Venus 

and 

Primavera

because most of Botticelli's Pagan works

were burned when he came under the spell of 

Savonarola

the religious zealot of the time..

known for burning more than images on 

canvas..

The halls of the Uffizi are endless and filled with statuary..

this amazing gallery was once the home of the 

Medici family, who were

bankers..

it is an impressive building...

below, the view 

of the 

Ponte Vecchio 

from inside the Uffizi...

This shot below, gives you a good idea of the enormity

of the museum..

which is on the left and the right 

and since it was a "Free" day 

all of Florence was lined up to go to the museum

as well as the tourists..

we had membership passes and 

sailed past the line,

which was 

really

fabulous...

But..

The lines inside the Museum were

unbelievably long...

and we did not have time to wait..

so I missed many things that I wanted 

to see..

but that means I will have to see them

on the return trip...

The Fleur De Lis 

or 

Giglio

in Italian

is the crest of the city of 

Florence..

and you will find it everywhere..

The roof top garden and cafe at the 

top of the Uffizi above would have been packed if 

it was not rainy and cold..

but we still enjoyed the view..

We ate pizza near the Duomo

above and had a nice lunch while the rain drenched everything and everyone..

we had a bumbersol on the ship..

but they did not allow them in the Uffizi

so we would have had to discard it..

so we bought one on the way back to 

Croce Square below..

and the rain finally stopped..

but it washed everything clean and 

made wonderful puddles in the 

old stone square..

at this point we were headed to 

Aix-En- Provence

And I will eventually show you 

those photos too..

Along with Barcelona, Mallorca and the Canary Islands..

but for now..

ciao, ciao!