Florence, Italy

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I just got home tonight from a weekend in Florence. It was amazing! We
went on Saturday morning to the Academia to see Michelangelo’s the David. When
we arrived we weren’t sure exactly how the museum worked but when we turned the
corner we saw the David down the hallway. I was absolutely awe struck- it was
amazing and the pictures do not do it justice- you have to go visit it in
person if you ever get the chance. First of all, the sculpture is made of
marble yet it looks as smooth as glass. 2nd, it is the most detailed sculpture
of a face from its time yet the most detailed part of the sculpture isn’t his
face, it’s his body (the veins, muscles, fingernails, and toes). Also, this is
the only sculpture of David where it depicts him in a humble, reflective manner
as opposed to the other sculptures of him after defeating Goliath with his foot
on top of his defeated head. And lastly, it was amazing that such a vast
sculpture could be created by one man and withstands such a long period of
time.

After seeing the David we walked around Florence until we reached the Duomo
where we climbed 400 some steps to the top and when we reached the top we could
look out over the city. It was a bit cold that day but the sun was shining and
the view was amazing. We probably spent about 45 minutes up there just looking
around. (Plus we wanted to get our times worth since the hike up wasn’t easy).
When we finished with the Duomo we made our way over to the Ponte Vecchio
Bridge and looked around, hung out and went into little shops. After about 3 or
so hours of walking around we went back to our hostel and got ready for dinner
then went out for a nice Italian meal.

The morning (Sunday) we got up early and went to our reservation at the Uffizi
at 9am. When we arrived, my friend Liza and me got a headset to have an audio
self-guided tour and then headed into the museum. At first we couldn’t figure
out the corresponding numbers and the whole audio thing but once we got it
working it was totally worth it. We spent about 2 and a half hours in the
museum and I loved it all. I like art but I’ve never been a huge fan but I
really enjoyed this museum. They have everyone from Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Da
Vinci to Botticelli and Caravaggio. Some of the most famous paintings in the
world are located there. For example, the Madonna with the long neck, the
Sacrifice of Isaac, and the Medusa. So, after the museum we just wondered
around Florence for a few more hours and then headed back here to Lugano. We
were hoping to stop by the leaning tower of Pisa, but because of time
constraints and train schedules we didn’t make it.

We are thinking about heading to Munich next weekend but we aren’t sure yet- so
I’ll let you all know next week how our trip went.

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Photos

Group
The group on top of the Duomo