Archive for May 2009
Florence in pictures
Larger pictures and larger slideshow available on my picasaweb page.
Most of the pictures taken with my old (but trusty) Nikon D50 (6 MP dSLR) with 10-20 mm ultrawide angle Sigma lens. Also my cheap (and I now think, somewhat crappy for these type of pictures) Casio compact.
Images had a bit of adjusting in Lightroom but not much.
The cult of David
I’ve already blogged about seeing Michelangelo’s David for the first time and I’ve also mentioned that I bought a book from one of the museums in Florence which came out a couple of years ago to commemorate the 500th anniversary of this – the world’s most famous sculpture. Read the rest of this entry »
Arrivederci – day 5
Still not got round to writing up day 5, which was 2 days ago!
Had a lovely last day in Italy. We packed a lot in. We went to Palazzo Vecchio which is a Romanesque, crenellated fortress palace in the centre of Florence, which these days serves as the town hall. A lot of art inside. The entrance is in Piazza della Signoria (which you would be familiar with if you’ve seen the film A Room With a View).
I ended up splurging on stuff in the gift shop which was a day or so too late seeing as our bags were already packed and in the left-luggage at the hotel. I bought the 500 year centenary anniversary book of Michelangelo’s David (which I’ll blog about separately), a David poster and a David print (all quite cheap). Read the rest of this entry »
It’s all about David – day 4
A busy day today and I’m now just back from dinner. Another steak (Bistecca alla Fiorentina). The steak was great, though the accompaniments of last night’s meal were better. Still enjoyed it. Also had a bottle of something Tuscan and red, I forget what it was (not Chianti). Was lovely though.
We saw a lot today. But the highlight could only ever be Michelangelo’s statue of David. Universally acknowledged to be the single most important sculpture ever to exist in Western art, he came into being 505 years ago, taking several years to carve. And he is breathtaking. In his beauty. In the attention to detail that he exhibits. In his representation as the absolute and total elevation of the male body to the highest art form imaginable. He is devastating to experience and to witness.
Tea with Mussolini – day 3
I felt unnaturally English last night as craved a cup of tea just before bed and thankfully a mini kettle and tea/coffee are provided. So I had one. Considering I am in the land of coffee – I’m hardly drinking any at all. To think I have all that Starbucks at home, here I can get the real McCoy but it’s not really what I’m after. I remain, odd.
Anyway, another enjoyable day in Florence. The weather held out and was sunny (though quite hazy) all day. It had threatened to rain at one point, but it didn’t.
We visited the Capella Brancacci which houses some of the most important 15th century renaissance frescoes, depicting St Peter. I got some good pictures of these which I’ll eventually post.
We crossed the River Arno on to the lower side of Florence to visit the royal palace (Palazzo Pitti) where we took in the Palatine gallery and royal apartments. More renaissance art than you can shake a stick at - Botticelli, Rubens, Titian, Caravaggio, Tintoretto – they’re all here. Read the rest of this entry »
A Room with a View – day 2
The hotel is furnished ‘Empire style’. It’s smarter than the hotel I stayed in in Venice two years ago and also the hotels I’ve stayed in when visiting Rome the past two times. I like it.
An enjoyable second day in Florence. A convivial breakfast in the large Empire style dining room. It has a kind of 30s feel to it but as I hanker after all things old-fashioned I’m minded to adore it. On the subject of food, I do tend to over do the cakes, croissants, juice – not to mention the cooked breakfast itself… it sets you up for a busy day ahead I always think. You spot the other English at breakfast as they also order tea; the Americans (who are here in abundance) tend to order coffee.
A strong Italian sun beats down, 34c again. First stop is the Bargello museum which is famous for its statues. And they’re rather wonderful. I’ve always loved statues. Trying not to be crude but there is more ‘meat and two veg’ than you can shake a stick at. And why not I say. There was an exhibition of Bernini’s sculptures on at the time which was particularly good. Read the rest of this entry »
Viva Italia – day 1
An enjoyable first day in Florence (or Firenze, as it’s known in Italian). Flew in this morning getting to Italy around midday.
It’s hot. Was 34c just after midday with full sun. I was in Rome 11 months ago and remember just how hot it was then, 35c+. This part of Europe gets really hot temperatures even this early in the summer.
The hotel is very pleasant. We ended up being upgraded to a superior room as they’d originally put us in a double and we’d booked a twin. Really spacious, lovely view of a piazza. The free wi-fi is OK but a bit flaky and while it downloads fast enough, it has really crappy upload speeds which is why I won’t bother trying to upload photos here though I took quite a lot today.
Painless journey both to Gatwick (direct Thameslink from Blackfriars) and then the flight itself to Florence which is about 1 hour 45 mins.
Taxi from the small airport into the centre of the city. The hotel is in the old part, close to the city centre. Read the rest of this entry »
Spotify
A colleague at work told me about this. Totally free, legal, streaming music, no buffer-lag, huge catalogue, tiny download. The only catch? You have to be a UK (or Swedish) resident.
It’s called Spotify.
It’s brilliant! The interface is a little like iTunes. There is the odd advert (every half hour) – but that’s fine, and they’re like UK radio adverts which I really can’t object to. Same with the interface. Read the rest of this entry »
Notes to others
I’ve done a few notes to self recently. Once upon a time I might have done them on my tumblr blog but I’ve come to the conclusion I can’t run two blogs, so I’m not really posting on that one any longer.
Notes to self (no.6)
