It's big, it's hot and it leans ...

Our only full day in Florence. We had a lot to fit in. The first thing was to try our luck at getting into the gallery where 'The David' is. The line was already massive so we paid a little extra and got into a guided tour. 


We were glad. No big lines, no fussing over tickets, no audio guides. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we learnt so much about the art and the artists. We also could go around the gallery once we were finished our tour.



This piece was amazing. It was by Jean de Boulogne. It was actually the plaster cast, not the real thing. When artists created their works they created a plaster cast first then the actual statue. Usually, they get destroyed but Jean didn't because he liked it so much, he kept it for himself. 


This is one of the prisoners. They were created by Michaelangelo (photographed below) and were supposed to be unfinished. They were stunning and we loved hearing about their background. m


But the real highlight was this. It is incredible. 5 meters high, from his feet, not the base. He is perfect. Michaelangelo created him when he was only 26 years old and it took him around 3 years. You could stand and look at him for hours. The photos don't do it justice.






After a look around the rest of the Galleria, we headed to the train station for our next stop, Pisa.


Gelato - Hannah's fav! (They are actually squishies)


Some countryside - wine!

We arrived in 40-degree heat and had a 20-minute walk, but who cares, it was Pisa.


Pisa was a bit rougher than Florence and more like a regular town than we had found Venice or Florence. I think we half expected to spot a Mitre 10 around the corner. 
But alas, we only found this ...


The point of coming was to take a bunch of selfies with it so count yourself warned.





The water fountain that Asher went to use instead of taking cheesy selfies with us.




We did have to do a bit of a google, as the signs didn't explain why it actually leaned. 


Thanks Google!

We headed around the tower and discovered that there were all sorts of other interesting things alongside it. 

Grass. There was also lots of green grass. Ahhhh, nothing like sitting on green grass looking at beautiful and old buildings.






Really old Roman wall in the background.







Time to head back to the train station for our next appointment at 6:30pm (yes, we actually had one) but first ...


It was a bit of a fast walk, Ruth styles, to our next stop the Uffizi Galleria. We had reserved tickets to speed up the wait, so it was only 10/15 minutes to get them and get into the Galleria. 


Once in, we knew we had a few key things to see. Most of the masters were here, I think all four teenage mutant ninja turtles actually plus Botticelli. The Birth of Venus ... I was confident it would be wonderful. It is quite a big Gallery and it is filled with many, many beautiful statues and paintings. You do start to feel quite overwhelmed. Here are some highlights for us. 






This story came up a few times, Saint Judith cuts off a general's head and takes it back to her village. Ah the violence of a determined woman.

There was a percussion guy who was playing music in response to Botechilli's paintings. He was renowned apparently. We heard much squeaking of plastic bowls on a cymbal. Very creative. Dan informs me it was very, very clever and precise. He is more than happy to talk to you about the pitch, tone ... blah, blah. Me, I just wanted to see the paintings.

And here she is.

Ahhhhhh.



If you got close you could see incredible workmanship. It wasn't surrounded like the Mona Lisa but you couldn't stand there for hours either. 

Ahhhhhhh.









There was also this view from the cafe rooftop.




And we are back from our commercial break to see more art. 



Leonardo Da Vinci

Rembrandt painted this. It is called Portrait of an Old Man.

What a day. We finally finished feeling very full of the art but not so full of the tummy, so it was time to find dinner and then go to bed ready for tomorrow's next adventure of discovery.














Comments

  1. WOW! Just Wow - I am so proud of you guys 'DOING IT' so well! It's not easy to be a good tourist! Totally loving the Art display and the reminder of our our incredible history - thank you! You get what you pay for so good call on the guided tours etc :) Safe travels and ENJOY! H x

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  2. Glad you're getting you're walk on... ;0) Wow, lots of Art and old buildings. You must be so knowledgable! Are you going to Cinque Terre??? These posts are getting me excited about travelling somewhere...! Are you spotting quite a few grippers? Or are they isolated only to NZ? xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I channel you a lot when walking. I don't think I'm that knowledgable, but I certainly have learnt a lot. No, we aren't going to Cinque Terre, there just isn't the time or money. Next time! You should travel. We met a guy who said we should go to Africa. You could do that. Grippers - only annoying smokers so far. But then we aren't talking to a lot of people. xo

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  3. Hi guys hope you are having a great time. some of the pic's you have taking Are some of the art I have been writing about. keep having fun By Zack

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  4. Hey there Mrs Spragg!
    Its me Parwin, and it looks like you are having lots of fun overseas! And the paintings look really cool
    along with the scenery. I wish I could come with you, you could just hide me in your suitcase, Just
    Joking but I wish I could go there. The photo's look really nice especially the ones with the Faling
    Tower Of Pisa. I remember when we went to a gallery in Afghansitan but we mostly took photo's
    looking around. What was your favourite place you have visited so far?


    Kind Regards,
    Parwin

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  5. Hi Mrs Spragg its me Jacob it looks like you are having fun i like the photos that you have taken on your trip i wish i was there but the photo looks cool i hope you had fun.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi miss its me layton it looks like your having fun wherever you are the class misses you so keep having fun and keep blogging.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow Mrs Spragg, I really like how you made Hannah stand in the photo as if she was leaning on the Leaning Tower of Pisa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi there Mrs Spragg My name is Chloe King,
    The interesting part of your post was the awesome art. You brought me back to when we all did art that slide called becoming a master. You could try to improve on maybe not doing so many pictures it did take me while to find end to do a comment? hope you have been having fun?
    Chloe King
    Yaldhurst Model School

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  10. Hey guys I love all the photos you took.I really wanna go see the leaning tower of pisa myself.I didn't know why actually the tower was leaning everything overall was very interesting.

    kind regards Eben

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  11. Hi Mrs Spragg. It's me Teegan. I think I was the only person who got the joke! The leaning tower of Pizza! I like to look at old buildings too and think about me renovating the building. like house flippers. Guess what I got yesterday, my Physical Activity Leader (PAL) badge. Woo-hoo! It really looks like your having fun, and you should keep having it!


    Kind Regards,
    Teegan

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  13. Hi miss Sprragg. It is me Toby I like the Deseil train it looks a little different to the nz trains but I do really like the Deseil train. Is it an electric train?

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  14. WOW! Mrs Spragg you must be having the time of your life visiting all these amazing places and the artwork was just amazing.
    Hope your having fun.
    Yours Sincerely,
    Kade.

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  15. Hi Mrs Spragg, Jonathon speaking,
    My favourite picture was that one with that mansion,
    But The only thing I don't know about it
    is: what is that mansion thing called?

    Yours Sincerely
    Jonathon

    ReplyDelete

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