Day 12 - Art and food

No breakfast at the hotel and we were too late to make breakfast at the sister hotel, so we headed for a McDonalds breakfast.  I was looking forward to a bacon butty with a big coffee but ended up with a small cappuccino and a croissant - disappointing.

It was nice weather so we had a wander around for a while.  It's definitely a more relaxed pace here, as can be seen by the number of people riding push-bikes - in Rome they would've all been haring around on scooters.  We stopped to get a few things in a supermarket so we could make rolls for lunch - something we've been talking about doing since the beginning of the trip but have only now managed to do.

I suggested a visit to the Bargello, a gallery with a focus on sculpture, and so we spent some time going round there.  It was an enjoyable visit for me, but I could tell the other three were getting bored after about half an hour.  Perhaps culture just isn't for them!

Mercury by Giambologna in the Bargello

To cheer everyone else up after that, we went to a park to have lunch and chill out a bit while the boys had a run around.  It was very pleasant sitting and relaxing in the sun.

We agreed that perhaps I should go by myself to the Accademia Gallery to see 'the' David, so I went and booked a ticket.  You either have to pay extra to book for a certain time or queue up for ages in the street and, since I was only paying for myself, I booked a slot for 5pm.

After that it was a stop off for ice cream at the Vivoli gelateria, which was recommended by our hotel receptionist.  The shop was packed out and the ice cream was delicious - well worth a visit.  Then we headed to the Mercato Nuovo to see the Porcellino, a bronze boar that you feed a coin for luck and then rub its snout to ensure a return to Florence.  Like good tourists, we did just that.

Luke rubbing the Porcellino's snout

I headed to the Accademia gallery then, while the others went back to the hotel for a shower and to chill.  The gallery was fantastic and well worth a trip.  Obviously, the David is the star attraction, but I'd bought an official guide and managed to read a lot of it before I went in, which made the rest of the exhibits far more enjoyable than I'd known nothing about them.

The hall with David was really busy, but it was still possible to spend a fair amount of time there and get a good look.  I'd seen a copy in the Piazza della Signoria, where the original used to stand, but the original itself was definitely far more impressive and I hung around the area for ages so I could keep taking another look.  You're not allowed to take pictures in the gallery, so instead I took a photo of one in the guide book so I could at least have a picture I've taken of 'the' David here in the blog:

A guide book photo of Michaelangelo's David

As I looked round both galleries today, it was very noticeable just how much art used to be focused on Christianity and little else.  In the Renaissance they started looking back at Roman legends as well, but it was still mostly religious.  When you see so many of those paintings and sculptures together, it really shows how for a few hundred years, and probably longer, art basically meant religion.

I'm glad I visited the gallery, it's one of the highlights of the trip so far.  I went back to the hotel happy and we all got ready to go out for a meal.  We went to a local restaurant, again recommended by our receptionist, and it was good cheap food and really tasty - one of the best meals we've had.  Not exactly high cuisine, but very enjoyable.

Finally managed to get onto Twitter and the end of  the day and I've just seen that Sarah Jane (actress Elizabeth Sladen) has died, which is sad and the boys will be upset when they hear about it.  RIP Sarah Jane Smith.

Luke's joke of the day:
Diner - Waiter, waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?

Waiter - Looks like the backstroke, sir!

Callum's riddle:
Answer from yesterday: Ice

Today's riddle: If you have it, you want to share it but if you share it, you don't have it.  What is it?