We arrive in Florence without having slept, drop our bags at the Hotel Helvetia-Bristol,
stumble out into the Italian world...
finding sunshine in the Piazza Della Repubblica.
Also cappuccinos there.
They are better in an outdoor café in Italy.
No, really.
In a daze at the Duomo.
Someone bought art supplies in a real Italian art store. Just ask her...
Lunch at the Piazza Della Signoria.
Neptune and his fountain celebrate Italy's naval power.
He stands at the Palazzo Vecchio, built in the 1300s.
It was remodeled in 1540 as a palace for the Medici family patriarch Duke Cosimo I.
Courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio.
Next door is the Loggia della Signoria, built in 1382, full of sculptures in the open air.
The expressive Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna,
carved from a single block of marble in 1583.
And David.
This copy stands before Palazzo Vecchio,
the was original moved from here in 1873 to the Accedemia Gallery nearby.
Florence loves their David.
As do we all, si?
to be continued...
