Opificio delle Pietre Dure

We had a 5:45 time slot booked to see David at the Galleria d'Academia. Today was a very scheduled day, but if you want to see the good stuff you need to book in advance (or stand in a hot line for hours).

We arrived around 5:30 and had to wait in line to get our tickets. Every museum has you go through a metal detector. Brad said that previously a man had used a hammer to attach the statue of David, so I suppose these precautions are necessary.

The Galleria is very small and everyone is basically there for one reason. We did see a number of unfinished sculptures that Michelangelo had started as well, which was neat to see because you could still see the chisel marks on them. David was much bigger in person than I had imagined! His hands were enormous and the definition in the legs and arms was impressive. He had all the veins and muscle structure of a real person! We were awed. Evan couldn't help but notice how big his "jigglys" were (Evan's seen a lot of jigglys on this trip).

We took a few spins around David before checking out some other religious art as well as a room full of plaster casts.

After exiting through the gift shop, we found ourselves out and about but too early to have dinner. We popped into a pub called Mostodolce so Evan could work on his journal while we had a quick pint. While Evan wrote, we decided that we'd head back to the Mercato Centrale for a quick supper. So, we packed up and walked over. We decided to try a few things for supper including a squid ink suppli (called arancini here); a mixed grilled seafood skewer with salad; a meatball sub (more like meatball in a pita); and some rigatoni with Bolognese. We even tried a cannoli for dessert!

By this time it was 9:30 and we had a long walk home. I can't say we mind the walks though because everyone is out and about at night. It's so hot that the evening is the only cool part of the day and I think people take advantage of it.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Florence and I know we are all going to miss this city!Read more