Florence, Italy
Had a free weekend while working in Milan and I had the choice to visit Florence. This was truly one of the most breathtaking places, seeing my renaissance heroes' masterpiece arts was amazing. Hands down favorite person is Leonardo Da Vinci so being able to see it with my own eyes was quite an experience. Notably my favorite gallery would have to be the Uffizi Gallery
Soundtrack
Arno, this is a river, the heart of the city of Florence.
View of the city
Many things to do
The food is not shabby either
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
Piazza Della Repubblica
The streets were all narrow and surrounded with high buildings. Every hallway I would go into would be a new corrdor of awe and amazement. I walked a few of these to explore but then headed on my way to the Ufizi Gallery. Once I arrived, the plaza was filled with people and the line to get in was about a 4 hour wait. Fortunately (or purposely planned) I was able to get a fast pass entry for $40 with a US speaking tour. This reduced my wait time to 15 minutes. I definitely recommend doing something like this. The tour itself was great and alone was worth it. Tour guide gave our group some very neat insight and facts that I would not know otherwise. She gave us an in-depth history lesson of the Medici family who were very powerful politicians and owned the Uffizi gallery.
Ready for some amazing artwork? but first let's just say the whole place is filled with art, even the ceiling
Zoom in, you can see Harpies and Chimeras. neat!
This painting is hilarious because I was colored this a few years back. My jaw dropped when I saw this.
Messed up the hand but its actually gangreen
The Alchemy Room
This room holds all the elements of stone, sea (seashells in the roof dome) , the glass represents air and the red for the fire on the walls
Was able to capture some stunning pictures of the Bridges of Florence from a window hallway in Uffizi
The proportions on the Angel and Mary are off and it has been bugging scholars forever, that how could the master Leonardo Da Vinci be so off? This was one of his early paintings so maybe there's some credence. However if you look at the painting from the side, you will realize that this painting was painted in perspective. It's pretty amazing that in the Renaissance, they were able to calculate angles and precise measurements.
Church in Florence's main square
I stayed in Hotel Kraft. It was over a bridge to get over to the main attraction parts of Florence but it really was not that far away (15min to Uffizi). I really enjoyed my stay here, the hotel was luxuious, I can't find any hotel photos unfortuantely :( so you'll just to take my word for it :)
This was my breakfast view