Hi all, it's been a while. Life
has been buys here in India hence I haven't been writing as much, but we have
been doing lots of fun stuff. James and I were invited by a friend to go to
Florence at the end of October. Since we have never been and I've always wanted
to go, we started to look at flights and when we found the perfect ones we
decided to go.
On the night of the 23rd we flew from Mumbai to Zurich and then took a short plane ride over the Alps to Milan. We decided to stay for 1 night in Milan before taking the train to Florence on Saturday.
Milan is a wonderful city filled with beautiful people, styles, restaurants, and sights and of course gelato! Once we made our way by bus (its a long story) to the center of Milan, we found our hotel (AC Milano by Marriot) and checked in. Since we had been flying all night, by the time we made it to Milan it was afternoon so we embark on a mission to find coffee and good food. We settled for a little coffee/pastry shop that also sold pizzas. On the way to the hotel we found a great gelato place and decided to indulge in the tradition. We went to the hotel so we could take a nap; since we flew all night and we hardly sleep in planes.
After our nap we decided to explore Milan so we set off on foot where the wind took us. When I was doing research on Milan I found that The Last Supper by Da Vinci is on display in Milan, so we went there first. To our surprise (not really) the tickets were sold out for the day, so we could not see it. We decided to walk down to Il Doumo in the main piazza, stopping in intricate stores along the way. Once we reached the Cathedral its beauty wowed us. This Gothic white marble structure took almost 6 centuries to build and it is the largest cathedral in all of Italy (Wikipedia).
Once we exited the cathedral we decided to keep walking and we stumbled upon the "5 star" mall, filled with Prada, Versace and LV, of course. Since we were still in Mumbai time, we got hungry earlier than normal, so we decided to find a restaurant. We stumbled upon a great Mozzarella Bar called Obika. Here we indulged in the best caprese salad I've ever tasted and a delicious traditional pasta dish. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and decided to turn in early since we had been traveling for almost 10 hours and we were leaving Milan early the next morning.
The next morning we took the train out of Milano Garibaldi Station, which was, located right across from our hotel. This was my second time on a train (the first being the train from London to Paris and vice versa) and I keep saying taking the train is the way to go. It took 2 hours to get to Florence, which wasn't bad. We arrived early afternoon, so we went to check in at the hotel and find a place to eat. After eating we just wanted to get acclimated to the city and its roads. It was quite easy to navigate. We went from Il Duomo, to Piazza the la Signora, Galleria Uffizi to Ponte Vecchio in no time, of course stopping along the way to take pictures and see the beautiful merchandise around the different markets. That day we decided not to go to any museums and just take it all in and start exploring the next day.
On Sunday we woke up early, because Rick Steves and all the other guides books told us to go early to the different museums. We bought the Firenze Card, which works like a fast pass at Disney. You just show up and got to the front of the line. Once we had the cards, we embarked on the mission to see the real David statue. We walked to La Accademia and waited about 2 minutes to get in, while others made the line. We entered the museum and they had frescos and such. We looked at the map and found where the David and the other Michelangelo sculptures where and set off that way. Once you enter that room you are transported to the Renaissance (at least I was). The David is a sculpture out of this world and magnificent (I never thought about it that way until I saw it). It commands attention, admiration and everything else. I was entrance (and not by his penis), but by the grandiosity of it (no pun intended). I never imagined this sculpture to be this big (17 feet tall) and so perfect (no picture can capture that). Aside from The David, there were several unfinished sculptures leading to the David that were almost as beautiful as the David. These statues are called The Prisoners and Michelangelo also sculpted them. La Accademia is small, so after you see the main events, you can go.
After La Accademia we decided to walk to the Uffizi Gallery to see more frescos and the Botticelli's. Here we had to wait around 5 minutes to get in. Once inside we had to go up a couple of flights of stairs and once there the Gallery is set up similarly to The Louvre and Versailles. Since I wanted to see Fillipo Lippi's and Botticelli's paintings, we walked a little faster to avoid the crowds among the exhibitions we did not want to see. Both Lippi's and Botticelli's paintings were grandiose and amazing. Seeing the original Birth of Venus and Primavera in front of you is something extraordinary. I've always been an admirer of Botticelli since I read Anne Rice's Vittorio the Vampire and learn all about him, the Medici's and the Renaissance. So being able to see a painting that I have known about for 15 years is quite an accomplishment. Once we saw these wonderful pieces of art we just decided to take it easy and just walk around the Gallery. That afternoon after lunch James had the great idea to climb the Campanille near Il Duomo. I made it to the second tier, while he ran to the top like nothing. After taking amazing pictures of Florence from above, we went to our last museum of the day, The Palazzo Vecchio. Once again, James went and climbed up the tower and I just visited the museum. It is a nice palace with great history about The Medici.
That night we decided to eat at McDonald's. Yes, I know what you are thinking. You are in Italy and you are EATING MCDONALDS!!!!!!!!!!! Remember that in India cows are sacred so eating real beef is few and far between occasion and expensive.
The first few days in Italy were magical and adventurous. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this awesome vacation... There is a nice little surprise coming on the next post!
Until Then,
Nats
The best Caprese Salad ever
Perseus and Medusa
Us at Ponte Vecchio
The David
The Birth of Venus
After almost dying from climbing the steps
View from the Campanille
On the night of the 23rd we flew from Mumbai to Zurich and then took a short plane ride over the Alps to Milan. We decided to stay for 1 night in Milan before taking the train to Florence on Saturday.
Milan is a wonderful city filled with beautiful people, styles, restaurants, and sights and of course gelato! Once we made our way by bus (its a long story) to the center of Milan, we found our hotel (AC Milano by Marriot) and checked in. Since we had been flying all night, by the time we made it to Milan it was afternoon so we embark on a mission to find coffee and good food. We settled for a little coffee/pastry shop that also sold pizzas. On the way to the hotel we found a great gelato place and decided to indulge in the tradition. We went to the hotel so we could take a nap; since we flew all night and we hardly sleep in planes.
After our nap we decided to explore Milan so we set off on foot where the wind took us. When I was doing research on Milan I found that The Last Supper by Da Vinci is on display in Milan, so we went there first. To our surprise (not really) the tickets were sold out for the day, so we could not see it. We decided to walk down to Il Doumo in the main piazza, stopping in intricate stores along the way. Once we reached the Cathedral its beauty wowed us. This Gothic white marble structure took almost 6 centuries to build and it is the largest cathedral in all of Italy (Wikipedia).
Once we exited the cathedral we decided to keep walking and we stumbled upon the "5 star" mall, filled with Prada, Versace and LV, of course. Since we were still in Mumbai time, we got hungry earlier than normal, so we decided to find a restaurant. We stumbled upon a great Mozzarella Bar called Obika. Here we indulged in the best caprese salad I've ever tasted and a delicious traditional pasta dish. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and decided to turn in early since we had been traveling for almost 10 hours and we were leaving Milan early the next morning.
The next morning we took the train out of Milano Garibaldi Station, which was, located right across from our hotel. This was my second time on a train (the first being the train from London to Paris and vice versa) and I keep saying taking the train is the way to go. It took 2 hours to get to Florence, which wasn't bad. We arrived early afternoon, so we went to check in at the hotel and find a place to eat. After eating we just wanted to get acclimated to the city and its roads. It was quite easy to navigate. We went from Il Duomo, to Piazza the la Signora, Galleria Uffizi to Ponte Vecchio in no time, of course stopping along the way to take pictures and see the beautiful merchandise around the different markets. That day we decided not to go to any museums and just take it all in and start exploring the next day.
On Sunday we woke up early, because Rick Steves and all the other guides books told us to go early to the different museums. We bought the Firenze Card, which works like a fast pass at Disney. You just show up and got to the front of the line. Once we had the cards, we embarked on the mission to see the real David statue. We walked to La Accademia and waited about 2 minutes to get in, while others made the line. We entered the museum and they had frescos and such. We looked at the map and found where the David and the other Michelangelo sculptures where and set off that way. Once you enter that room you are transported to the Renaissance (at least I was). The David is a sculpture out of this world and magnificent (I never thought about it that way until I saw it). It commands attention, admiration and everything else. I was entrance (and not by his penis), but by the grandiosity of it (no pun intended). I never imagined this sculpture to be this big (17 feet tall) and so perfect (no picture can capture that). Aside from The David, there were several unfinished sculptures leading to the David that were almost as beautiful as the David. These statues are called The Prisoners and Michelangelo also sculpted them. La Accademia is small, so after you see the main events, you can go.
After La Accademia we decided to walk to the Uffizi Gallery to see more frescos and the Botticelli's. Here we had to wait around 5 minutes to get in. Once inside we had to go up a couple of flights of stairs and once there the Gallery is set up similarly to The Louvre and Versailles. Since I wanted to see Fillipo Lippi's and Botticelli's paintings, we walked a little faster to avoid the crowds among the exhibitions we did not want to see. Both Lippi's and Botticelli's paintings were grandiose and amazing. Seeing the original Birth of Venus and Primavera in front of you is something extraordinary. I've always been an admirer of Botticelli since I read Anne Rice's Vittorio the Vampire and learn all about him, the Medici's and the Renaissance. So being able to see a painting that I have known about for 15 years is quite an accomplishment. Once we saw these wonderful pieces of art we just decided to take it easy and just walk around the Gallery. That afternoon after lunch James had the great idea to climb the Campanille near Il Duomo. I made it to the second tier, while he ran to the top like nothing. After taking amazing pictures of Florence from above, we went to our last museum of the day, The Palazzo Vecchio. Once again, James went and climbed up the tower and I just visited the museum. It is a nice palace with great history about The Medici.
That night we decided to eat at McDonald's. Yes, I know what you are thinking. You are in Italy and you are EATING MCDONALDS!!!!!!!!!!! Remember that in India cows are sacred so eating real beef is few and far between occasion and expensive.
The first few days in Italy were magical and adventurous. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this awesome vacation... There is a nice little surprise coming on the next post!
Until Then,
Nats
The best Caprese Salad ever Perseus and Medusa Us at Ponte Vecchio The David The Birth of VenusAfter almost dying from climbing the steps View from the Campanille
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