Firenze: Friday-Sunday
(Entry about the first day of travelling, in case you missed it and want to read it.)
Friday, March 17th
In the morning we went to visit the Uffizi art gallery. They have many famous paintings in there, e.g. The Birth of Venus and La Primavera (Spring) by Botticelli. I'm not very much into art myself, but it was pretty cool to see those paintings.
After that we went to the other side of the river Arno by walking across Ponte Vecchio. It's the oldest bridge in Firenze. There used to be blacksmiths' smithies on it but nowadays there are lots of shops that sell jewellery.
We visited Palazzo Pitti, in which the ruling family Medici once lived. The palace building is very wide and only the entrance shows in the photo. First we took a walk in the Boboli Gardens which used to be the palace's private garden. Doesn't this tree look very much like the Whomping Willow? :P The day was very sunny and warm and when the wind didn't blow it was warm enough for me to take my coat off. We also visited the palace's royal apartments and saw old furniture and more paintings.
On our way back to the hotel to rest our feet, I bought a black leather belt and a blue/torquoise scarf.
Saturday, March 18th
Another gallery visit in the morning. This time it was to the Galeria dell'Academia that holds the beautiful statue of David, made by Michelangelo. You could actually see the muscles and all. Very detailed work. Otherwise there wasn't too much to see in the gallery. Mostly just more paintings of Mary and her child. I think I've seen enough of those for this whole year.
We went to see a gothic church near Firenze's train station and after that we just wandered around and visited some stores. I bought myself a leather jacket! It's something I've wanted for some time but never thought I'd really get one because they're so expensive. I got this one for 240 € and I hear it's cheap. I'm very happy.
In the evening we went to listen to three people play in a small church. One of them played the organs, one played a violin and one had an oboe. The music was beautiful and I'm glad we went, but the church wasn't heated and we got cold quite quickly. Not so easy to enjoy music when you can't stop shivering. Oh well.
Sunday, March 19th
We left in the morning and went back to Pisa. I slept on the train again. We had a few hours of time before we had to go to the airport so we went to see the Tower of Pisa. There's a church next to the tower and the tower is its bell tower. It was great to see it!
We wandered around the place and bought silly stuff like mugs that are tilted the way the tower is. They are fun and not even difficult to drink from. :)
The rest of the day was spent travelling and I was back at home 11 hours after we left Firenze. It was a long, long day. On the way back we changed planes in Frankfurt and now I've sort of been to Germany twice. The weather in Frankfurt was very clear and sunny and the temperature was around 3 C. There was no snow anywhere. Funny thing is, that when we started our trip we stopped in Munich which is south of Frankfurt and it was colder there. Maybe it's because of the mountains or something.
Okay, that was it. Phew. No more uploading of photos for me for a while.
Friday, March 17th
In the morning we went to visit the Uffizi art gallery. They have many famous paintings in there, e.g. The Birth of Venus and La Primavera (Spring) by Botticelli. I'm not very much into art myself, but it was pretty cool to see those paintings.
After that we went to the other side of the river Arno by walking across Ponte Vecchio. It's the oldest bridge in Firenze. There used to be blacksmiths' smithies on it but nowadays there are lots of shops that sell jewellery.
We visited Palazzo Pitti, in which the ruling family Medici once lived. The palace building is very wide and only the entrance shows in the photo. First we took a walk in the Boboli Gardens which used to be the palace's private garden. Doesn't this tree look very much like the Whomping Willow? :P The day was very sunny and warm and when the wind didn't blow it was warm enough for me to take my coat off. We also visited the palace's royal apartments and saw old furniture and more paintings.
On our way back to the hotel to rest our feet, I bought a black leather belt and a blue/torquoise scarf.
Saturday, March 18th
Another gallery visit in the morning. This time it was to the Galeria dell'Academia that holds the beautiful statue of David, made by Michelangelo. You could actually see the muscles and all. Very detailed work. Otherwise there wasn't too much to see in the gallery. Mostly just more paintings of Mary and her child. I think I've seen enough of those for this whole year.
We went to see a gothic church near Firenze's train station and after that we just wandered around and visited some stores. I bought myself a leather jacket! It's something I've wanted for some time but never thought I'd really get one because they're so expensive. I got this one for 240 € and I hear it's cheap. I'm very happy.
In the evening we went to listen to three people play in a small church. One of them played the organs, one played a violin and one had an oboe. The music was beautiful and I'm glad we went, but the church wasn't heated and we got cold quite quickly. Not so easy to enjoy music when you can't stop shivering. Oh well.
Sunday, March 19th
We left in the morning and went back to Pisa. I slept on the train again. We had a few hours of time before we had to go to the airport so we went to see the Tower of Pisa. There's a church next to the tower and the tower is its bell tower. It was great to see it!
We wandered around the place and bought silly stuff like mugs that are tilted the way the tower is. They are fun and not even difficult to drink from. :)
The rest of the day was spent travelling and I was back at home 11 hours after we left Firenze. It was a long, long day. On the way back we changed planes in Frankfurt and now I've sort of been to Germany twice. The weather in Frankfurt was very clear and sunny and the temperature was around 3 C. There was no snow anywhere. Funny thing is, that when we started our trip we stopped in Munich which is south of Frankfurt and it was colder there. Maybe it's because of the mountains or something.
Okay, that was it. Phew. No more uploading of photos for me for a while.