Europe February 2024

Today was a super long day of excursions! First, we went to the Bargello museum, and admired Renaissance sculptures, understanding the influences and the breakthrough of different artists, culminating in a genius of Michelangelo. Rick Steves tour of this museum was very engaging in helping us see the progression that led to Renaissance. Unfortunately, we were so engrossed in the tour of the masterpieces that we forgot to take any photos. We then went to the Medici Galleries which was shockingly over the top magnificent extravaganza of dazzling colorful marbles and semi precious stones. It was built as a mausoleum for the famous Medici family that financed the artists who brought in the Renaissance. We then had delicious lunch of beef carpaccio and pasta. After lunch, I went to visit the Florence synagogue, which was a beautiful example of Spanish influenced architecture. Then I went to the museum of the innocents, which was the building that became the orphanage where single mothers would drop in their unwanted children and they would be raised. It had a small but quite interesting exhibit. I also had a coffee at the rooftop terrace of this museum, admiring a beautiful view of the sunset over the Florence skyline, dominated by the Duomo. Finally, I went to visit the inside of the Vecchio Palace which is now a functioning townhall and interestingly, had some sort of the meeting with speeches in progress.Read more