Uffizi Gallery in Florence

One of the most wonderful places I saw on our trip to Italy was the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, or Firenze in the local tongue. I am so interested in artwork and pinched myself because I was standing in front of Renaissance masterpieces. When in my life will I ever have that opportunity again? The gallery was an overload (in a good way) of Renaissance artwork and can come across as intimidating.

Above is one of Botticelli's masterpieces, "The Adoration of the Magi of 1475". A funny fact is that you can see a self portrait of the artist in the painting. Below is "Annunciation" by Leonardo da Vinci.

I don't know why, but I love Caraveggio's style. His "Bacchus", which is below, is a great representation of his work.

Again, the masters (Botticelli and Michelangelo) dominated the collection. What I have displayed is just a small portion of the collection at the Uffizi and still amazes me.

Immagini da Venezia

That morning, we took a walk along the Adriatic side of Venice. Tourists from cruise ships and other places had not overcrowded Venice yet, so it felt that we had the city to ourselves. Waking up early and being able to take in the beauty of the architecture and the sea was fantastic. The beauty was indescribable. The pictures do not do it justice. Yes, this was at the end of the trip. Fatigue was becoming a problem, but that morning was a "pick me up" and wonderful. No, we did not make it to the islands of Murano and Burano. That means I will have to go back to Italy someday. (Hey, I did throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain earlier that trip.) I will posts more from the Rome and Florence parts of the trip later.

St. Mark's Square

I took this picture in September 2016 during my first trip to Venice, Italy. When I took this picture, it wasn't raining, but the rain poured after and it made for quite a memory on that trip. I will posts some more pictures from earlier that morning and on that trip. Rome, Florence, and Venice were all on the itinerary. It had been 16 years since my last overseas adventure to Ireland. I am so very lucky to be able to share the memories with my dad. Soon enough, we will be making new memories in Germany and Austria.