Oak Street Ranch

La Dolce Vida

Day Six – Florence:

Recaps:
I am reminded that we are not the only celebrities that our driver (from yesterday) has had recently. When at the wine tasting, he showed us the bottle of wine autographed by Lynda Carter, at her wine tasting tour; and told us about his driving gig with Carson Palmer (I guess post-injury and post-football season, he had some time on his hands).

ALSO – Let me say, for the record – My directional skills in Italy have been STELLAR (especially when compared to driving around LA). Hmmm… something’s probably wrong with the fact that I know a city that I’ve been in for a day, rather than one I’ve lived in for 20 years.

Photos:
Photos from yesterday and today are here: http://community.webshots.com/album/550431514hgctes

We had a bunch, and blogger loads them somewhat slowly.

Day Six –
Breakfast at the hotel is served family-style at a large wooden table in a courtyard atrium. Very nice start – and we need to fuel up, because Jen’s got some shopping to do!

Our walk around the city takes us past the train station (which is good- because that’s our ride to Venice in a couple of days); past a BUNCH of churches (which here, means basically every other corner). Past the Duomo, in daylight. Stunning. The church is amazing and the square is stunning – it’s the rockstar/hollywood/forum of the 1500’s. The Uffizi (now a museum, formerly the offices of the Medici family and the heart of Florentine government), a large set of fountains, a set of Medici era elite “apartments,” and of course, another church. Its really an interesting snapshot of life in the 1500’s.

But, a break in the history – shopping:
We visited the Ferragamo store – Nice stuff. Jen found a pair of shoes that we picked up. AND, (ok, this is shopping and history) they have the Ferragamo Museum. For some, this is the St. Peter’s Basilica of shopping. Yes we went. NO, we did not wait in line or pay a fee (PLEASE). It was interesting, as a story of the American dream. Italian immigrant, comes to America with a dream and a suitcase, make shoes for movie stars and politicians, etc. And the rest is history.

From there, another string of stores, ending with Gucci. Another purchase there. Epic success on the shopping scale.

From there, we were fortunate enough to get ourselves on a tour at the Uffizi. One bummer – no pictures. What can one say, while walking through the hallways of the Medici seat of power? Marble, frescos, paintings by DaVinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, etc. Sculptures. Stunning. The self-portrait by DaVinci, Botticelli’s Venus, the Medici Tribune, the views of the city from the courtyards, etc etc etc. I can’t do it justice. You could watch a number of documentaries, and still not take get it all in. But, suffice to say – its pretty darn cool. No purchases in the gift shop. I think I’ve probably caught all of that on the History Channel, and no – you really don’t need an umbrella with a picture of the Madonna with Child.

Afterwards? A little more walking around the city. Tonight, a restaurant recommended by Eddie, and the Hotel. Tomorrow – more shopping, more museums.

We’ll keep you posted.

posted by Mitch @ 9:46 AM