It'd be hard to argue that statement after looking at this photo of the Grand Canal.
Beautiful and romantic. What could be more romantic than a gondola ride down the canals? Since I took a gondola ride last time I was here, I skipped that and Kevin and I walked around the city on our own. Nice relaxing time just soaking up the history, the beauty and the warm sunshine. I did learn the name of Andrea Palladio on this trip. Palladio lived in the 1500's and was one of the most influential Western architects. I'd never heard of him prior to this trip, I'm ashamed to say. Another gap in my education but I'm working on correcting that, however. I just ordered a book about Venetian architecture. Seems the more I learn, the more I don't know. Now that we have Rise to The Top and the Common Core, I'm sure the name Palladio will be known by every charter school attendee, though. (I'm currently reading the Diane Ravitch book Reign of Error and its got me all wound up, hence the dig at three of my educational sore spots.)
Here's Ilka, our tour director, rounding us all up after getting off the water taxi. There were 44 of us on the bus with 16 different nationalities. She did a great job keeping us informed on the history of the areas we traveled to and keeping us functioning as a group. I only took classes on field trips a few times during my high school teaching career and that was enough of a worry. The planning and the worry about some knucklehead doing something stupid or getting lost was more than I normally wanted to deal with. I can't imagine what it's like keeping a tour like ours on track. No complaints here, though.
After Venice, it was on our way to Florence. I wouldn't have taken this tour if it hadn't have gone to Florence. The heart of the Renaissance. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Botticelli. The list goes on and on. We were there on the last trip and this is the one place in Italy I really wanted to visit again. Our day started with a guided tour by a local guide.
We covered much the same ground as the last time we were here but well worth hearing and seeing it again.
Brunelleschi's dome on one of the most magnificent churches in the world.
And because it was off-season for tourists, we had the opportunity to go inside this time. An amazing feat of engineering and architecture.
The group had some free time before heading to Pisa on an optional side trip. Since we'd done that last time, Kevin and I once again toured the city. This time we took in the Pallazo Pitti and the Basilica of Santa Croce.
While walking around we came across this street artist. Good to see that the arts are still alive and well in Florence.
The Pallazo Pitti was the home of the Medici family, the rulers of Florence and the Holy Roman Empire at one time. If you are the ruler of the civilized world, no reason you can't afford a nice house and this was definitely one nice house - huge palace and gardens chock full of art work. They didn't allow any photography inside so you'll just have to go to Florence and see it for yourself. If that's all you saw it would still be worth the trip.
After the Palace we made our way back to the Basilica of Santa Croce.
Again, another simply amazing work of art. While this one is not nearly as grandiose as some of the others we've visited on the outside, on the inside is the tomb of Michelangelo along with several other heavy hitters of the Renaissance. If I was to consider moving to Europe, I think someplace around Florence would be my first choice. I love this city.
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