Tie Me Down to this blog.: Florence of Arabia -- feminist camelmanship.

After sleeping in a little bit, I headed into the city. I walked around the Duomo of Florence for a little while and then wandered a bit north at random until I reached the time of my reservations for the Galleria dell'Accademia. This is a popular museum since it contains several well know art works, prime among them the statue of David by Michelangelo. It wasn't until I got to the ticket booth until I realized that when I quickly purchased tickets, I inadvertently got one for the Galleria dell'Accademia in Venice. Fortunately the ticket guy let me purchase one there instead of having to go outside and wait another 90 minutes in the stand-by line.

The museum really wasn't that extensive in its collections, but I suppose I was already completely spoiled by the holdings of the Vatican Museum. Again I was aided by one of my audio guides where I could enjoy learning a lot more about the works while standing right in front of them. There were several unfinished works by Michelangelo that I wouldn't have been nearly as able to appreciate or understand without having that aid. I found myself think that I was thankful that he took up making works of art from marble and stone rather than ice sculpting. David, of course, was the main attraction and just as I did at other significant spots, I simply stood or sat for a long time just taking in the piece and appreciating the history and significance of it.

After leaving, I headed over the to famous Duomo of Florence. Although many may not, I actually liked the colors of the building and the unique white, green, and pink marble. The inside was of course spacious and grand and even though it cost a few euro, I loved the experience of climbing to the top of the dome. The climb itself provided access to not only some neat, narrow and winding staircases, but also a walk along the interior of the dome that provided sweeping views of the cathedral tourists far below. It did get a little crowded in the passageways, but walking between the two constructed (inner and outer) dome was neat, and the views definitely could not be beat anywhere.

Compared to my other vacations of the past, the pace here was much more relaxed and I took the time to just sit and think whenever possible, so what better place than on top of the center of the Renaissance world?

After spending a while here I walked back to the river and just followed it out of the main areas and even stopped to do some shopping at a few booths, picking up a couple of neck scarves as a thank you gift for someone since I saw that it seemed to be quite the current fashion among Italian women. I meandered over to the Michelangelo Piazza on the other side of the river for a nice sweeping view of the historic city across the Arno River.

On the way back towards the hostel I had a lovely dinner at a restaurant that was one the river and had a great seat overlooking the Ponte Vecchio.

After dinner I wandered the historic bridge for a while observing as shops started to close down and couple wandered the path. When looking over the side, I discovered my first real example of love locks. I had heard of the tradition previously and knew I would see them on the trail near Cinque Terra, but didn't expect them here. Love locks were apparently a tradition started in Rome where a couple would close the clasp and throw the key into the river to 'lock in' their love for eternity'. The tradition seems to be very much alive today and as I wandered Italy

I became much more aware of these locks at almost every romantic location that I came across. A quick search for love locks on Flickr shows this to be popular in many different places of the world now. When I got back to the hostel there was a free concert with some Indian musicians and dancers that put on a lovely performance that made my stay at the Ospitale delle Rifiorenze Hostel a bit more interesting and enjoyable.