Above is the entrance to the Uffizi Courtyard. Every few arches there is an arched recession with a marble statue of the many artists whose works are housed within. These days you can't just buy a ticket and wander around. You need a reservation. I got there around 9:15 and there were already about 200 people in line waiting to make a reservation. I decided that standing around for 2 hours was not what I wanted to do. So I guess I'll have to come back for this as well!
If you look at my picture from last night from the dining terrace of my hotel you can see a castle -like building in the distance. This is it. It is right behind the Uffizi and is the Palazzo Vechio. It seems that most attractions in this city need tickets and reservations. The piazza Della Signora is huge and was full of tourists waiting for their group's turn inside. I took a few pictures and moved on toward the Duomo.
Again the Piazza was wall to wall people! This structure is so huge that it is impossible to get back far enough to capture the whole thing with 1 camera shot. The doors must be 15 ft or higher and are sculpted brass. All the docoration you see is filligreed marble. It is absolutely stunning.
Across the Piazza del Duomo resides the Battistero a building in the shape of a septagon and each section has a set of bronze doors like the ones above. The artists were selected after a competition and each set of doors depicts pieces of scripture. They were made in the early 1400's and are amazing to see. Such detail - I can't even begin to describe them. An artist by the name of Lorenzo Ghiberti beat out the likes of Brunelleschi, Donatello and others to win the competition to be assigned to task of casting the North doors.
Above is the Ponte Vecchio taken from the wall just in front of the entrance to the Uffizi. I found it much easier to get around Florence than Rome. The layout of the streets is a little less maze-like. But, oddly enough, I felt more at home in Rome. The people here at the hotel are very nice and very helpful. I love it that no matter how humble your hotel might be, the linens are clean and ironed. I met a waiter today when I stopped in for lunch on my way to have a gander at the original Palazzo Pitti. He spoke to me English, he spoke to his co-worker in Italian and he spoke to the people next to me in French. I wonder why it is that we North Americans get absolutely stubborn about learning another language.
Anyway, that's all for today folks. Tomorrow I'll try to get on the right train and wend my way to Venice. Hopefully, WiFi will be available.
Ciao tutti!
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