We arrived in Florence in the evening, and the next morning set off to sightsee. Our first stop was Florence's Uffizi Gallery, one of the most magnificent museum collections in the world, curated by the Medicis in the Renaissance.

The Uffizi Gallery has a queueing issue. We didn't have reservations, so we got in line an hour before the museum opened at 8:15am. Two hours later, we entered. The line was eventually over 6 hours long. It's crazy.

Entering the Uffizi Gallery!

The museum is primarily Renaissance Italian religious art. Here's a sample.

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," the most famous piece in the collection.

The statuary library of the Uffizi.

The famous Venus statue inside the Library.

The Uffizi features a fabulous view over the Arno River to Ponte Vecchio.

...and an aerial view of part of that 7-hour Uffizi queue, which by now had wrapped around the museum and down the street.

The Joneses in Florence!

Florence's fabulous Duomo by Brunelleschi.

It has the largest dome in all of Europe, and even Michelangelo himself had input in the design.

The front facade is a riot of brightly colored frescoes.

The Duomo's bell tower, designed by Giotti.

The intricate striping and sculpturing are astounding.

Next stop: Santa Maria Novello, where Galileo was denounced for saying the earth revolved around the sun.

The Joneses at Santa Maria Novella! Wheeee

The Bargello, a museum of sculpture that is equal to the Uffizi for paintings.

Palazzo Vecchio, the Town Hall and center of Florence's square.

Palazzo Vecchio, with the Piazza della Signoria outdoor sculpture hall nearby.

...and like everything in Florence, it's very very crowded. :)

Next to Palazzo Vecchio are many original and replica statues. This is the original Neptune fountain by Ammannati.

...and the square is FILLED WITH TOURISTS

Against the Palazzo Vecchio entrance is a replica of Michelangelo's David. It doesn't look as huge and imposing outdoors against the Palazzo.

The many statues in the Piazza della Signoria.

One of the Piazza's most famous statues- Perseus beheading Medusa.

There are tons of piazzas all over Florence. This was one of my favorites- Piazza della Repubblica, complete with merry-go-round.

At the market in the square, we bought a 6 euro bottle of grappa from the distiller!

Pick your own caption for this photo. Possibilities include: 1) My secret life as an Anne Geddes model 2) My SPOON is too big! 3) A spoonful of human makes the medicine go down

This is not my bike.