Florence part 2

 Well, of course there was beer in Florence! I loved the glass they gave Alex.

Some paintings are so famous, it's almost boring to see them. But in the real deal, this painting did take on a vibrancy. Our local guide gave us the lowdown on this painting. It is quite busy and packed with background info. 

 My drink of choice in Italy became Campari Spritz. Some say it's too bitter, but I loved it: Campari, Prosecco (the Italian version of champagne) and club soda. Very refreshing in hot Italy.

But we were saved from totally sweating by being here in May; the weather was sometimes cloudy, which made walking around less hot. And the Rick Steves folks kept us out of too many lines. Our guide said that in June and July, it's incredibly more crowded! My sis-in-law said in July, they've had temps of 100!

 For my pal, Lisa. She loves the cobblestones. Glad I didn't have to wear heels! And note the grass and plants find any opportunity to grow, even in a hostile clime like that.

No matter how many times you've seen a photo of Michelangelo's David, in person it is completely awesome.

 Souvenirs NOT completely awesome. I had to laugh. And no, I didn't buy one.

 From the ridiculous to the sublime: above is Caravaggio's painting of Thomas checking that Jesus really was the Messiah by putting his finger in the wounds.

 Of course there was a lot of pasta, which was really good. After the trip, we purchased a pasta-making machine. Tried it last night and the result was awesome.

 And gelato! We didn't have gelato every day, but it sure was tempting.

People always have to have fun with paintings..

 I was surprised to learn that in many paintings, the artist puts himself in the painting. Not sure with this one, but I enjoyed the horses.

 Yes, a leather telephone!

We learned that at that time, it was not cool to have females posing nude for paintings. So you'll notice that many of the paintings of women appear very masculine: our local guide told us that they used male models and just added breasts to make it a woman. 

 In France, it would be called patisserie. Not sure the Italian name, but am sure they were beautiful desserts.

It is hard to see, but there is a swallow in the upper right of the photo. The birds were all over, swooping over the river for bugs. (I noted this is NOT good snorkeling water.)

 Yes, we even occasionally ate salad.

 For Lisa, a stamp store!

 The Arno and some of its bridges. Quite lovely. But look at the orange-ish building in the middle of the bridge. Would you want your house out over the river that way?

 There was a whole thing about white dogs: they were pictured in some paintings at the time. I will check with Alex on the why, but once you start looking for it, it's kind of amazing how many white dogs one sees.

I will continue the Florence info soon. But now, want to check for octo-action! Have a great Memorial Day.