Contents
- Preface
- San Francisco
- Amsterdam
- Amsterdam, Helmond
- Amsterdam, Zandvoort, Haarlem
- Amsterdam, Bruges
- Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin
- Berlin
- Berlin, Potsdam
- Berlin, Wansee
- Berlin, Prague
- Prague
- Prague, Karlstejn, Vienna
- Vienna
- Vienna, Salzburg, Füssen
- Füssen, Neuschwanstein, Munich
- Munich, Innsbruck
- Innsbruck
- Innsbruck, Zürich, Lauterbrunnen
- Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch
- Lauterbrunnen, Schilthorn
- Lauterbrunnen, Spiez, Zermatt
- Zermatt
- Zermatt, Martigny, Chamonix
- Chamonix, Mont Blanc
- Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Courmayeur, Aosta, Turin
- Barcelona
- Barcelona, Sitges
- Barcelona
- Milan, Venice
- Venice
- Venice
- Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre
- Cinque Terre, La Spezia
- Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca, Florence
- Florence
- Florence
- Florence, Siena
- Siena, San Gimignano, Rome
- Rome
- Rome
- Rome, Sorrento
- Sorrento, Vesuvius, Pompeii
- Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello
- Sorrento, Capri, Naples
- Naples, Bari
- Patras, Athens, Mykonos
- Mykonos
- Mykonos
- Mykonos, Paros, Santorini
- Santorini
- Santorini, Athens
- Athens
- Athens, Amsterdam, San Francisco
Prev :: Friday, 7 October 2005 :: Next
36. Florence
Photo Gallery
This morning I enjoyed Florence's Science Museum. A neat (if somewhat morbid) thing to see here is a finger of Galileo's, preserved in a jar for almost four centuries. This was the birthplace of the telescope, and the museum also has a nice collection tracing the development of this and other scientific instruments. It seems to be staffed entirely by young Americans who are happy to tell you more about the exhibits. After the museum, I walked south across the river to the Brancacci chapel. The guidebook says you need an advance reservation for this, but it was quite uncrowded and I was able to get in immediately. The chapel has a great set of frescos illustrating the temptation of Adam and Eve and their despair at being expelled from paradise.
After a good, huge calzone at Borgo Antico, I visited the Palazzo Pitti and the Galleria Palatina within. Next the interior of the Duomo and its museum across the street, and east over to the church of Santa Croce to see the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli. I really should also have allowed enough time to see the Medici chapels as well, but by this time it was too late. Back to Piccolo for a drink later that night, where I met a nice traveler from Brussels, stuck in Florence for an extra couple of days due to a canceled flight. So I talked him into visiting Siena with me the next day.