Day two in Florence

This day was exhausting.  We saw so much - and also missed so much.  Our plan was to go to the Duomo in the morning, have lunch, back to apartment to rest and then head to our 3pm Uffizi Museum tour. 
So we headed off to the Duomo.

Plazza Vecchio and the other piazza's around here are where the crowds gather.  You can find all kinds of artists in action or someone taking a quiet moment.

The most popular bridge, Ponti Vecchio, is the only bridge to survive WW2 intact.  We crossed over the river here to find lunch in a less touristy part of town.

On the way we passed the Palazza Pitti and the Pitti Museum.  I love taking images of reflections so head a field day here.  Just like a fun house!

A few other street scenes before we find some lunch.

We found a lovely restaurant along this street.
After lunch we stopped for a drink at a cafe along one side of a popular piazza.  The cost is roughly twice what you would pay for the same choices in a side street cafe.  You pay for the view.  I got out the fisheye lens.

 The one above is my favorite.  So much action!

In the last 3 photos my husband is trying to shoot the handsome guy in standing in front of the restaurant.  He catches Mike at it and comes over to see why.  Turns out his job is to look good and get people to come into the restaurant.  He was a dancer for 7 years which is why his posture is so good.  I think he was hoping that Mike was a professional and this was his big break!

Our last stop of the day was a guided tour of the Uffizi Museum.  It was worth the cost to have someone show us only some of the painting and tell us about them.  There are so many beautiful paintings that it is overwhelming.  I don't understand a whole lot about paintings so here is my take on what we learned.
Almost all the earliest paintings at the Uffizi are religious paintings, in particular of the Madonna and child.  At first the people being depicted all seem to be staring off into their own little world with no interaction between the characters.  Sometimes the proportions of the individual people or even parts of each person don't seem to match. 

But first some scenes on entering the museum. 

 This is part of the ceiling.

Gradually some painters started painting whole scenes with lots more characters.

Here is a close up - the people are actually interacting.

The painting below is called "The Tickling Madonna".  The baby seems to be reacting to the tickle.

The painting below includes Mary's mother as well.

Around 1440 painters branched off from religious subjects.  This is a battle scene - but it is beautiful because there is no blood!

I like this one - beside Jesus there is John the Baptist and another child.

A painting of a famous couple with all their warts.  As explained by our docent the reason the wife looks so pale is that she was already dead.

More famous paintings.

The Medici family was very powerful and rich - and as they were supporting the arts they requested that they be in the paintings.  I have forgotten which ones, but the father and a son or two are in this painting.

There were statues in the museum as well - but our focus was mostly on paintings.

Around the 1500's it was very popular for the husband to purchase a birthing bowl to give to his wife upon the birth of a child.  This one was commissioned from Michelangelo.  The story is the husband who commissioned it was disappointed in it. 

Eventually the subject matter changed to be portraits and family groups of the wealthy patrons.

There is so much more to see.  If you ever get the chance to go - don't miss it.