Day 23 - David and other treasures

This morning we set off for the Galleria dell Academia to see Michelangelo's David. More queuing but we were soon in. The statue of David is phenomenal, it seems alive and it is hard to move away from it. But of almost more interest were the unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo where you see the beautifully shaped limbs still encased in the rock.

There is a smaller collection of Florentine art but it seems better organised and better explained so we enjoyed it perhaps more than the Uffizzi.

Then off to the Duomo - what a magnificent building and so large. Inside though, it is undeniably beautiful but I felt it lacks the shock and awe value of the English cathedrals.
Onwards to the Mercato Centrale where you can find all manner of fresh foods, fish, meats, vegies, pastries, deli foods, spices. One stall was devoted to dried mushrooms. It's a pity we can't bring stuff home. It was fascinating to see a deli where the shopkeeper was carving wafer thin slices of Tuscan style brawn or salami at least a foot wide with a very large knife.

A pasta lunch in a trattoria was excellent - Warwick washed his down with a birra grande. We made our way back to the river and checked out the jewellers on the Ponte Vecchio and back to the apartment. And it is still 26 degrees.

I've included a picture of the reproduction of David in the piazza - sadly you can't photograph the original.