Florence: July 7

Tuesday July 7, 2009

After a modest breakfast of orange juice and a few rolls we start the day with the Uffizi museum, home to the famous painting, “The Birth of Venus,” by Botticelli. It is so beautiful, and our tour guide has so much information, pointing out the details and explaining them such as the woman giving Venus the cloak and the appearance of roses at her birth. I love the color palette of the painting, with the soft green and pinks and blues. We then make our way to the Accademia museum which is where the grand sculpture of David is located. It is the most striking sculptures I’ve ever seen. It might just be that I have learned about it and seen pictures of it my whole life and I already thought it was amazing, but after sitting and sketching it, really looking at the lines, shadows, and contours of the body, no one could argue that it is the most beautiful body captured in stone.

Following the museums, we go to the Baptistery. On the ceiling of this octagonal building, are mosaics made with beautiful gold. It is amazing to think of the talent and time that went into creating those masterpieces. We also see the Duomo, which is right next to the Baptistery. The exterior of the Duomo is so intense, it is covered in patterns from the foundation to the spires. It is an absolute marvel to look at. After that our whole group receives the assignment to sketch the Pointe Vecchio, a famous bridge in Florence. After sketching, Darrin asks me and Brady if we would teach a little lesson on our sketching style. I am quite surprised that he picked me out. I like my sketching style, but I don’t think it’s better than anyone else’s. So I just talk about shading and lines and then I have them try to sketch a little detail using my style. They all turn out really well. We then hike up a hill and look out over the city of Florence. It is beautiful, my favorite thing we have done so far. All the senior girls in the Interior Design program take model shots together. We have a great time being silly.

In the evening we go to the restaurant that Jen, from work, recommended to me. It is called the Acqua al 2. Jen had told me exactly what to order, the pasta sampler and the balsamic steak. They bring out 6 different types of pasta, my favorite the spinach one. Then, after we have all finished our first course, they bring out the steak. It is really good, different than anything I’ve ever had before. After desert and 34 Euros, we head back to the hotel.