Final Thoughts on Florence

Yesterday was such a busy day in Florence that we didn’t have time to blog. We woke up fairly early and had a light breakfast at Hotel Panorama (the lodgings were somewhat of a letdown but not that bad for what we paid) before heading to the Museo del Accademia for our 10 a.m. reservation. We bypassed the line of sweaty people that wrapped around the corner and strolled right into the air-conditioned museum (never go to a museum in Italy without a reservation – it’s definitely worth the extra €4 or so). We went through the Michelangelo exhibit that houses some of his unfinished sculptures from a decommissioned series called Prisoners and of course his David. It was exquisite – there is simply no comprehending such an attention to detail and how someone truly understood the human form so well. We then strolled through the Robert Mapplethorpe photo gallery with some of his most popular nudes and expressive photographs. On a parallel but much removed level from Michelangelo, he too had a genuine passion for the human body that was remarkable and it at once became clear: (a) why a photograph could and should be considered a work of art and (b) why the museum chose to display such a modernist photographer’s work alongside one of the most revered and revolutionary artists in history.

After the Accademia, we met up with some of our friends from the program in the central shopping district and grabbed lunch at a fantastic little sandwich dive where you can craft a custom panini or foccacia sandwich from their list of ingredients for only €4. It was a life-altering sandwich (mine was artichokes, sundried tomatoes, Parma ham, salami, and brie). After lunch we walked around, doing some random damage at the leather markets and the designer stores. I got a ton of ties (handmade, pure Italian silk, and the kicker – only  €3-7 a piece), an Italian leather dress belt, and two new wallets, all of great quality and at really modest, negotiable prices. Megan racked up with a pashmina wrap, a Florence custom-T, a really nice and versatile two-tone leather purse, and all sorts of gifts for people (get excited, blog subscribers). We almost, almost, bought these amazing handmade leather briefcases that we haggled down the price of by almost 40%, but in the end they were still really pricy and we weren’t sure we would have the space to bring them back, so we reluctantly told the merchant we’d have to think about it. We decided to head for the bus station while we still had the means to buy our tickets, and before we knew it the bus was pulling out of the terminal and we were on our way back through the countryside to Siena. We got back just in time to make our way through the evening shopping crowds, throw our stuff down in the apartment and whip up a quick pasta smorgasbord with some leftover red wine. We passed out after watching the second half of Closer that we began watching a few days before and slept until after ten today. We were awoken once again by the loud drums of the neighborhood marches that occur every Sunday, which we now think must be some display of friendly challenge and comradery leading up to the annual city-wide horserace and festival called the Palio that happens during the first week of July. Anyway, we are going to have a lazy day and maybe go to the Piazza del Campo to do some reading for class. Thanks for reading and staying up to date with us and we are looking forward to seeing all of you again soon. Ciao.