Day 31 - Florence (Italy) - David wasn't bragging

NAKED MEN AND FLYING MEN... AHHH FLORENCE. Sunday today and all the bells ringing out won't let you forget it (actually they ring pretty much any day at any time!). It also happened to be Mothers Day (though on our travels I think we had about 3 different Mothers Days... yet again every country likes to be slightly different - which is probably just as well because if there were no differences between countries I'd probably be sitting at home for 3 months watching Simpson re-runs). Had a lovely breakfast at the church to celebrate Mothers Day and then enjoyed a nice service led by Roger - the church is for mainly all the Americans living in Florence but they are a nice bunch of Americans ;-) Then it was off for our date with a naked man! The queues were around the corner at the Museum of Academia but we had pre-purchased our tickets on the web (alternatively you can do it with a tour to skip the queue). Ignoring masterpiece after masterpiece we kept walking until there he was... David! And let me say, as far as naked men go, he is pretty inspiring. You can see a copy of the statue in one of the public squares but seeing it in person is so much better. The detail is amazing as is the choice of marble. I won't go on too much, but let me just say I recommend it (as for the rest of the museum I wouldn't bother - apologies to the other artists! - spend your time staring at David and then find a nice panini and glass of vino somewhere!). Oh, and once again "Noooo Phooootooooss!" (but you can get some nice shots from behind the pillar or directly behind David without anyone noticing ;-) Our other major stop for the day was a fun one at the Leonardo Exhibit. Some clever people have recreated Leonardo DaVinci's clever inventions from his sketches and notes... and most of them are hands on! (I luuurrvvveee hands on stuff). I've actually seen the exhibition advertised in a few countries so if you see it check it out.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: If you move to the right spot you can often hear a tour guides commentary for free (just make sure you aren't near a Spanish group!). Also the audio headsets are only worth it if you are REALLY interested in a place (more on that when we get to Venice!)