Lizzy in Vienna!: Firenze!

In the morning we dragged ourselves out of bed around 8:00am (well SOME of us, I accidentally got up at 5am because someone called the phone I was using as an alarm and I thought it was the alarm going off) and hauled our stuff to the train station. We caught the 9am bullet train to Florence which was sooo expensive, but at least we got there ok. I was the only one not traveling with a Eurrail Pass (it gets you about 10 days of travel for around $500), but since the others didn't know they had to reserve a seat it cost them nearly as much in fees when the conductor came around.

We arrived just after 10:30am in Florence! I was so excited to be here because I know how much Nina said she loved it and wanted to visit. We found our hostel, the David Inn, and actually got our own room to ourselves. It was so nice and peaceful for a change. We were also only 1/2 a block from the Accademia with Michaelangelo's David!

We started off our morning going to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was AMAZING. The entire structure is made of this greenish type stone with all sorts of interesting designs. It was spectacular. And not only that, it was HUGE. It was an entire block all by itself. No kidding. This was the cathedral that Michaelangelo was inspired by to build St. Peter's in the Vatican. It was just amazing. We waited for about 2ominutes in line--well Robin and Myles waited while Anna, Laura, and I scampered off to find 3 Euro calzones. They were soo delicious! Definitely the best lunch so far :) Inside the cathedral was a little lack luster, not a whole lot going on. There were some beautiful windows and a neat 24-hour clock, but other than that the place just felt a little empty. The neatest part was the dome and it was blocked off from being able to walk underneath it. Oh well.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Inside.

Part of the golden door on the outside.

The huge line trying to get in.

When we left, Myles and I wanted to climb up the dome but no one else was really feeling like it. I think it was something like 463 steps. Yikes. So instead we opted for going to see Basilica di Santa Croce. It was only a few minutes walk away and I guess I had been appointed the fearless leader/navigator. I did pretty good too :) The church was also beautiful, with a large white facade and a long brick body. Inside were the tombs of soo many famous Italians. We saw the tombs of Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Donatello (at which point I turned to Anna and said "Wait I thought that theses guys were all turtles...haha"), Machiavelli, Dante, and a ton of others. It was neat. Not to mention the church was beautiful! There were fresco's everywhere and neat little chapels. Not to mention the floor was covered in tombs and headstones that had been worn down by centuries of church goers. They had the occasional grave roped off so no one could walk over it. All and all it was a really cool experience.

Basilica di Santi Croce.

Me in front of the huge door!

Tomb of Leonardo DaVinci.

The sweet floor with all of the tombs you can walk over.

After that we walked over to the Accademia for our 2pm appointment to see the David. We had heard that getting a reservation a few weeks ahead of time was a good idea even if it cost a little extra. We had heard that the lines to get in would sometimes be up to 2 hours long. So we played it safe and bought tickets ahead of time. Turns out the line was only about 1/2 and hour long. Oh well, I think it was the poor weather forecast that turned people away from travelling that weekend. We got inside, saw a few other works of art and then turned the corner to see the David. It was HUGE. At least 10 feet tall. I never thought it would be that big. And it was amazing. You could walk all the way around it. There were no photos allowed, but we all covered Myles while he used his iPhone to snap a picture :) Besides the David there wasn't a whole lot else to see there. There were a few other unfinished Michaelangelo statues, but that was about it. At least we got to see the David. It was worth it.

Some excellent gelato

A sneaky illegal photo of the David.

Next Anna and Laura went off to nap and Robin, Myles and I went to go climb the dome of the big cathedral. It takes you to 3 different levels. It was really funny to see people dropping back like flies. You would round the corner and someone would dart up past you, and then a minute later you would see them taking a breather a few flights up. But the first main stop was in the actual dome. There was a gang plank that you walked around and could see all the frescoes up close. They were actually really funny! Most of them depicted what would happen to you in hell. There were three-headed monsters gobbling down whole people, demon dogs chasing poor guys, and and devil casting others into fire. Just the scenes you would want to see while at mass. Oh the catholics. We walked up another big flight of stairs on the outside of the dome (between the dome and the wall) and ended up on the roof. It was gorgeous!! You could see all of Florence in every direction! The dome was the tallest building in the entire city. It was magical :)

Climbing up the crazy staircase. Me, Myles, Robin.

Yeah, we climbed up these.

The awesome damn-you-all-to-hell fresco.

The view!

Looking out at the bell tower and the city.

After the ridiculously long walk back down we took a little siesta. We set out in the pouring rain to search for food. We ended up at a terrible restaurant for dinner :( I was kinda sad that our last dinner in Italy would be so bad. Kinda like going to the Spaghetti Factory. Oh well, it kinda dampened our spirits a little.

Then we wandered around and saw a replica of the David standing where it used to be and a bunch of other statues. We wandered past the Uffizi and to the river where there was a really cool covered bridge. We all took lots and lots of pictures and Laura got semi-molested by and Italian man who made her a bracelet. She told him she wouldn't pay, so he kissed her. Urrm, awkward. We then headed back to town, got a few drinks, and headed to bed.