Florence to Lake Como

---

Yesterday after the beautiful breakfast in Florence, we headed out to explore Florence a bit more before the train back to Milan. We climbed the 470 steps up to the top of the Duomo, which offered a great panoramic view of the city. The church was very detailed from the inside out. My favorite fresco so far was the “Last Judgment” spiraled onto the dome’s ceiling here, by Federico Zuccari and Giorgio Vasari. Then, we headed to see the David which was a bit chaotic, but within an hour we were inside viewing the huge sculpture by Michelangelo. Absolutely loved it. Brilliant work. There was a guide nearby talking about the symbolic use of big hands and head or hair to symbolize how David beat Goliath with the strength of his mind and bare hands, which I would not have remembered from Art History in college, so it was a nice reminder. I kept trying to figure out why the hands were so big in comparison to you know what, but then it made sense. 

Then we shopped about the white tents or vendors on the way back to the hostel and departed for Milan for the night. We had our last supper with Emily, which was sad but soooooo delicious…one of my best meals (tortellini filled with spinach and topped with cheese.) We knew we had to get up early, so we headed to bed and woke up at 6am to drop Em by the airport shuttle. EM! We miss you! Let us know you made it home safely!

Caitlin and I made it to Lake Como by 8am and were able to eat the continental breakfast at the hotel we’re staying at. Sorry I keep talking about the food, but it’s such an important part of traveling! Anyway, the croissants were by far the best I’ve had. I think everyone loves them because they had a sign that said ‘just one please.’ We hopped on a ferry to see the guts of the lake and what a beaut! It was a bit overcast, but so worth the trip up here. The ferry stopped at Bellagio, a small town located where the lake splits into three parts. The shape is like a peace sign…kinda. The tourist office provided a brochure with a walking tour, so Caitlin and I followed it through to the end. We were absolutely pooped by 3pm, and couldn’t even make it to see the gardens at the end of the town. If any of you know me and how much I love flowers you have to know I must have been really and truly exhausted. We took a hydrofoil back to the town of Como where we are staying and both fell asleep on the 45 min ride. A nap was needed and then we caught a site of the local Duomo, some shops and the sunset, which was glorious!

More to come in Sienna. The Palio Festival will be on the 2nd - so we are going to rest up - there should be a lot of excitement around this yearly horse race.

Arrivederci!

---