Monday, January 31, 2011

"Wash Uffizi, drive me to Firenze"

The triumphal arch

The lyrics to Phish's song, "You Enjoy Myself" are what sparked my husband's interest in visiting Florence (Firenze) and the Uffizi.

Sadly, Matt and I are not really "into" art. I know we should have much more of an appreciation for it than we do. But, honestly, we don't. It's never top on our list when we travel. However, we had to go to the Uffizi and then The Accademia to see The David.

The Uffizi was extremely tough to get through with children. They were impatient, cried (we received glaring looks more times than I want to admit) and only eventually started behaving with the promise of gelato (more gelato, mind you). What I love about my husband is that while he may not appreciate art, he has a plethora of knowledge in regards to world history and was able to keep the girls entertained by telling them historical facts and stories regarding the time periods during which some of the art was completed.

View of the Arno River from the Uffizi

Replica of "The David"

Michelangelo's David, however, did not disappoint. I was in awe. I think I could have stared at him all day. However, the girls were not impressed and our visit to the Accademia was fairly short (on the upside, there was no wait to get in).

This is where we hit the gelato jackpot!

Pereche No! is a fabulous little gelateria well worth any wait. The restaurant is part of Slow Food International and, so, had my heart instantly and won me over completely as soon as I took one bite of the delicious ice cream, made fresh, right there, daily. In fact, I think I could have camped out there all day just to try each and every one of their flavors.

Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace)

I don't think we saw enough of Florence. I'd like to go back - but, probably not with the children. It's another Italian city that just isn't very kid-friendly. I purchased a drawing from of a street vendor, however, I would have liked to explore the city further and do a bit of shopping.

4 comments:

Luka Ranks Merit Badges said...

"Perche No!" means "Why not!." As in "Want another gelatto?" "Perche No!"

Becca said...

looks amazing! I really want some gelato now!

mvmaithai said...

Great pictures! Always wanted to visit Italy...someday.

Found your blog from surfing around Grantourismo...What a great experience living in a foreign country! I am teaching a couple of German kids (9 and 12) whose family is here in Chattanooga for the VW plant that just opened last year. Learned quite a bit about Germany myself.

mvmaithai said...

I forgot to mention that the family is from Braunschweig, close to Hanover.