#2933 three things: Florence day 2

I've been having some feelings of wanderlust, so I guess I'll have to satisfy that, for now, with writing and posting pics of Italy. Today I'll share three things from the second day I spent in Florence with Lizzie.

1. The Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi is probably one of the most amazing art museums I have ever seen, and I feel so lucky to have been there twice. The place is huge and chock-full of art, as you can imagine. There are works from da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Botticelli, among others. There are statues and busts, there are tapestries, and oh so many glorious paintings. Not only is it crowded with art, it is also crowded with people. 

da Vinci paintings in the Uffizi

Lizzie and I took a tour, and it was good and fine, but kind of rushed. When the tour was finished, the two of us made our way to the top floor where there is a cafe. We got a table outside and had a drink and a snack before we went back downstairs to revisit some of our favorite paintings. I think we definitely got our money's worth. Going back through was pretty great.

Ussie at the Uffizi

2. Evening stroll to Oltrarno. In the evening, we thought it would be fun to walk across the river to the more "locals" side of town. First though, we went up on the roof of the hotel to take some photos. For some reason we did not take an ussie up there. Guess we'll take care of that next time ;) 

rooftops of Florence

Over on the left there is Brunelleschi's Dome and Giotto's Bell Tower. Off in the distance on the right you can see the clock tower of Palazzo Vecchio. 

The weather wasn't great that day; it rained off and on all day, but once we got over to Piazza Santo Spirito, the rain had stopped and it was a nice evening. It wasn't very lively, though, but it was a Tuesday night.

Piazza Santo Spiritu

We found a place with tables outside and had a drink and a snack. It was peaceful and relaxed, and I rather liked it.

Ussie in Oltrarno

We strolled back to the Centro Storico admiring the lights reflecting on the River Arno. Ponte Vecchio looked like a postcard.

Ponte Vecchio

3. Fontana del Porcellino. When we got back over to the Centro Storico, we took a few minutes to look at our lists to make sure we'd seen everything we wanted. Of course we had not seen everything, but you have to leave something for next time, right? There was something on the list that we thought we could get to easily, and that is a statue of a cinghiale (wild boar). It turns out that the statue is right around the corner from Mamma Mia, the pizza place where we ate lunch the previous day. We just didn't walk around that particular corner after lunch!

This fountain is called Fontana del Porcellino, which means little pig, but it is clear that the statue is of a wild boar. While we were standing there (with many other people), a small woman came over and started telling me the legend of the porcellino in an almost indecipherable mixture of Italian and English. What it boils down to is that you rub the cinghiale's snout for good luck, and you put a coin in it's mouth and make a wish, and if the coin drops down into the drain, your wish will come true. I watched a few people not have the coin drop into the drain, so what you see here is me wishing that my coin would fall into the drain, which was NOT the wish I intended to make, but there you have it.

I hope I can go back and try this again without making that face.

My coin DID fall into the drain, so technically my wish came true. LOL

Oh man...I just really like Florence!