Florence

Italy is full of old stuff. 17th century stuff. 16th century stuff. 15th and older. We have been through numerous churches built prior to 1000 AD, and perhaps rebuilt after some Byzantine went bzerk; the fire of 1457; the earthquakes of 1411, 1511, 1611, 1629, 1740, 1749, 1802 and September 4,1991 on the "first day of my high school" (Italians remember everything!);  reoriented because of the road into town was rerouted; reconstructed the outer walls because of a substandard material scandal; or ordered expanded, renovated, gilted, upgraded etc. by a Cardinal Apiclio Meristemsi with a financial assist from one of a large number of De Medici family members who controlled everything during the Italian Renaissance. Italians just can not leave well enough alone. This is my opinion of Florence.
In my head, there is a huge knot of Gothic, Venitian, Byzantine and Renaissance stuff all filed together under "Impressive" with a sub folder "Pretty". Not very sophisticated, I know. There is just too much stuff. Florence is the worst, or best, depending on your brain's capacity to create coherent folders. The mistake we made was staying two days. In my opinion, you should either swoop into town, walk across the gold bridge, swing through the courtyard of the Uffizi Museum (so you can say you have been there) and get a picture of the fake David in the piazza by Vecchio Palace OR stay for a month or so to really understand the art and the glory of the place. And to learn from the American exchange students that the best pizza in town by far is Gusto Pizza, not far from the Gold Bridge on the side of the river opposite the Uffizi. I, of course, did not do that. You are stuck with the former.
It is safe to say that there is old stuff everywhere. World class old stuff. Not just a half of a column laying around here and there. After a while, I quit looking at it. Leslie had been organized enough to reserve tickets to the Uffizi and Museo Del Academia online, which puts you at the front of a very long line. The Uffizi was once one of the palaces of the Medici family and is now houses the family art collection, one of the greatest in the world. It is an enormous place, too big to enjoy art because you are tired before you get halfway through the place. I admit, however, that it is a spectacular museum. Museo del Academia is the home of Michaelangelo's David, who resides in a specially built rotunda. David is simply breathtaking. Bigger than I imagined and SO BEAUTIFUL! So when I see you photo of David and he has a pigeon sitting on his head and the slightest sign that there is bird poop on his shoulders, I will know that you snapped a quick picture of the fake standing outside in the rain and hubbub. You were not in the room with perfection.