I did drink a lot of water yesterday.
France has never been particularly high on my list of places to hit in Europe. Always was more of a "I'll get there someday" sort of place.
Loved Musee Rodin. The one in Philly is pretty cool as well. Musee d'Orsay was a lot of fun. Did all three of the Florence ones you mentioned. I loved the Academia b/c of David and Michelangelo's Slaves. I guess that's not very PC of me, is it? Anyway, his Slaves series is spine-tingling. The Academia just doesn't have as many pieces as the others.
Absolutely! Cemeteries are loaded with history. I am a genealogy buff (yes, one of THOSE people), and I love old cemeteries. The ones in Europe, again, blow my mind with their size and age. I did Cimitiere Pere Lachaise in Paris. This was before they kicked out all the weirdos that hung out at Jim Morrison's grave all day drinking and getting stoned. The graffiti was nauseating, but I hear they've cleaned all that up now. I think Edith Piaf is buried there.
Absolutely. It's like they're trying to burst out of the blocks.
The Bargello was probably my favorite of the three, although each has really interesting things. The detail of The David is crazy (and my favorite Michelangelo sculpture -- The Pieta in the Vatican -- almost makes you weep. The fact that he made marble look like cloth is stunning, and the expressions are very moving).
Uffizi has wonderful paintings. Hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of paintings, from the same general periods. It is an exhaustive collection in more ways than one.
I've been to Pere Lachaise, specifically to see Chopin's grave.
I love the Opera House in Paris. When I visited, they had a special exhibit on costumes - heaven! And my favorite museum in Paris? The Musee des Arts Decoratifs.
In London once, I spent 2 hours in the special exhibit on shoes at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
My favorite wing in the British Museum is the one with all the clocks.
I like the Marmottan - but I love Monet. Didn't make time to see everything in the Louvre.
I got sensory overload in the Uffizi. Wasn't as impressed with Birth of Venus as I was probably supposed to be - preferred da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi. I ended up leaving before my 2 cohorts and spending the time people watching in the piazza.
I confess to being the person lacking in art knowledge. It wasn't until I actually saw David that I realized why it was called David. (Finally saw the sling shot - yes, I'm a dodo head sometimes.) I had never made the connection before - maybe because I have a brother named David so it seemed normal to use that name. It was incredible - you could see the veins in his legs.
And the creases in his knuckles. Amazing.
For those who have never read "The Agony And the Ecstasy" I HIGHLY recommend it. And, I HIGHLY discourage watching the movie version, which was stunningly disappointing after reading the book. Like, "Prince of Tides" disappointing.
I know what you mean about sensory overload.
There was a Botticelli exhibit at Boston's MFA a couple of years ago. The Birth of Venus didn't make the trip but Botticelli painted a few studies before attempting the main event and some of those were in the exhibit. Lovely. But also, a very manageable sized exhibit. I find I prefer doing the special exhibits, they don't tend be so overwhelming.
I lucked out on a trip to Chicago - the Art Institute was doing a special exhibit of Georges Seurat and The Making of La Grande Jatte. It was one of the best exhibits I have seen. It showed his practice panels and the timeline of how it all came together. So good, I even bought the expensive touristy souvenir book to take home.
Perpetrating an art heist is pretty high on my “obviously I’m not gonna do that, but man, it seems like fun” list.
What I lack in patience, I make up for in nervousness.