I did get to see The Birth of Venus....the painting...not the actual birth...In case you don't remember High school art here is a picture from Wikipedia
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This was my favorite painting in my favorite room. I don't know why...I just liked it. I have already explained my affinity for portraits of old dead people. I forgot to write her name in my post when I was working on this post last night so if you really want to know...just leave a comment and I will tell you. I do know she was a very rich lady married to a banker and they were great friends with the Medici's....which is why is is hanging in the Uffizi because it used to be the Medici offices and then they started adding artwork and then all the sudden it became a museum. I don't think anyone would care enough about the
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This is the room the painting was in The Tribune. The dome was inlayed with shells and the flower scroll designs you see next to the windows are also made from using shells. Obviously I took this photo from fotosa but it was the only one I could find that showed the detail of the room. Don't think I didn't contemplate trying to slyly take one of my own but it would have been dark, grainy, and blurry so this is probably better anyway....and I didn't get carted off to Italian prison.
Those were the highlights. If you aren't satisfied....just imagine long hallways with rooms leading in to more rooms leading into more rooms full of paintings and sculptures and there you have our morning...and yes we went in to every room...thank you very much. It really was a neat place but it is something that is better appreciated in person...sorry a girl can only do so much.
Next is the Ponte Vecchio bridge. It is the oldest bridge in Florence and according to Alessandro that is because Hilter chose to destroy the other bridges, and left this one because they thought once they drove the tanks over it, it would be destroyed and they didn't want to waste the resources to blow it up....see I did learn something while I was there. Shops line the bridge and are mostly jewelry shops full of gold and diamonds....OOOHHHH AHHHH....I couldn't afford any of it so here are some pictures and we will move on....I sound a little cranky today don't I?
Now, I am going to take a brief pause before moving on. Our next stop was the Pitti Palace and Brandon and I spent over 2 hours wandering through the gardens he was THRILLED. The gardens were extensive...like central park extensive. I took lots of pictures so it is going to get it's own post because it was one of my favorite places we visited. Heather and Ryan toured the inside and said it was ok...not as glamorous as the French palaces they saw last year {they get out more than us}...so I was happy with my decision.
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This is a map just to give you an idea of the size. The Ponte Vechhio bridge is number 13 and the Uffizi gallery is in the number 12 area.
I'll be back with more....more exciting stuff I promise! I'm going to go adjust my attitude and put my tour guide hat back on and we will continue on.
haa haaa. Please tell me you were the girl that set off the alarm. It would make my whole month.
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