Let me begin with the end. We took a 3 hour Segway tour and it was totally fantastic! I put this on Instagram and FB. If you’ve seen it, just pass it by.

I am not coordinated. It took me a bit to get the hang of it but my oh my… Segways are fun! This is low season, crowds are light, so it was not hard to get around. Our guide, Andrea, in red, was very good. And we made a new friend, Shalom, in pink, from London. Karen is in the white vest.

Karen concurs… Segways are amazing. (Side note: see my red leather gloves? I got them today and they are fantastically warm and flashy. They will be easy to find in my bag for sure.)

We started the day at the Uffizi. Botticelli’s Venus was on the top of my list of things to see but there is so much more.

As is true in many museums, the Venus has glass in front of it. The glass here, and throughout the museum, was clear and clean, but it is not like looking directly at the painting. There is always a bit of glare and/or reflection between you and the painting. I don’t love it, but that’s the way it is.

I believe this is by Titian. I remember the painting from my college art history classes. I do love her self possession. That woman appears to be just fine the way she is.

I am still actively noticing the shadows cast by frames in museums. Look at the shadow on the wall below the painting. It is part of the show.

Rembrandt! Right there, on the wall!

We were not alone at the museum… these two gentlemen were reading about the painting to the left.

Which was another version of the Venus story.

Karen was particularly drawn to these two little images. Even now I am unable to tell you what they are.

I took photos of ceilings, because I like them. This one looked like it was embedding with big shells…

The next ones are painted.

I am particularly fascinated by trompe l’oeil. That is a flat surface painted to look like it has depth. The blue dome above is not indented.

It’s painted to look indented onto a barrel vault. Pretty much that whole ceiling is a flat, rounded surface. Amazing.

After the Ufizzi we had a quick lunch at Mister Pizza (I love that place) and then I hurried to the tomb of Lorenzo de Medici to take a photo of the statues of Crepusculo and Aurora for Steve.

I think this is the correct tomb…

Unless it is this one:

In either case, I think I go the photo. After this, we headed off to join our Segway tour. What a great day! Tomorrow we will see Michelangelo’s David and more. I can’t wait!