places i have been

Florence, Italy - 7/29

posted 7/31/03

So Much Sculpture - So Little Time!

Big Mask

Things We Have Seen
Day Three

We are feeling the pull of the road but want to get the most of our stay in Florence. One more museum beckons - the Bargelo is sculpture only - many Donatellos, Della Robbias and some "lesser" Michelangelos. Photos only allowed outside in the courtyard (drat.)

One happy find was "The Portal" - a lovely garden shop oasis in the middle of Florence. We mades some purchases here - including fridge magnets of David's nose, eye, ear and lips. Once the owner discovered we were sculptors he gave us a price break and showed us this plaque which says (I think) something like " Leonardo Da Vinci slept here."

We were pretty much museumed out and so decided to go back across the river to the famous Boboli Gardens. We came prepared with wine and picnic supplies, book (Harry Potter, for me) and painting supplies (watercolor, for Fred) with the idea of spending the whole afternoon in a flowery glen.

What we did not take into account was the drought that pretty much the whole country has been experiencing. Italy is dry and dusty this summer, and so was the garden. We walked and walked and all we found - for quite some time - was trees, mosquitos and weeds.

Finally, we stumbled across something kinda pretty. Nice fountain, some sculpture and flowers (but you could not get very close to them.) Still, we were able to find a bench to camp out on. I read and snoozed, Fred painted. We drank some wine and munched on pistachios. All in all, it was pleasant - a nice break from the vespas but probably not worth the 4 euro each we paid to get in.

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