Loving Florence

Loving Florence. The people here really love artists. Every time I have my sketch book out, I get lots of attention from tourists and locals alike.

Today I spent about two and a half hours in the Galleria Academia where Michelangelo's David stands in its full 17 feet. It was so much fun and a great thrill to see the beautiful figure. I did several studies of it in my sketch book (which I thought I had lost yesterday and finally found it when I got into bed and realized I had folded it into my sheets).

I went on a walking tour yesterday and refreshed my knowledge of Florentine history. Since I had "Civilization of the Arts: 14th Century Florence," it has been a lot of fun for me to be here seeing all of the sights and art that I studied only in pictures while in the class. I almost felt like I could give tours of Duomo. After the tour was over, I hung out with a couple of people I met on the tour, Fedimma from Ireland and Simon from Australia. We ended up just doing a bit of walking around Florence ending up completely lost at one point but once we found out where we were we enjoyed a beautiful view of the city.

After hiking around the southern part of the city, I headed back to the hostel for dinner (there is a really cheap and reasonably good restaurant at the hostel). While having dinner, I ran into another Irish girl I met on the tour, Nieve. Nieve, her boyfriend, some Japanese kids, and I spent the evening drinking vino and having a great night sharing traveling stories. We ended up being the life of the party in the hostel, ending up with a group of about a dozen. So much fun.

The day before I hiked up to the top of Brunellesci's Dome, all 422 steps. It was breathtaking to reach the top of the dome, the largest dome in the world, looking out over the city. After my class in college where I read "Brunellesci's Dome" the book, it was incredible to see first hand the herring bone brick pattern and the dome within a dome structure. I did get a little freaked out about the heights at one point when we had to walk along the inside edge of the dome, close enough to touch the frescos painted on the ceiling, although I was doing better than the young woman following me.

I had a wonderful time in Florence. It is such a beautiful city, maybe a bit to expensive for me to stay too long, but I think I have made good with my time here. Tomorrow I am heading to Zurich but I am thinking about making a detour through Pisa on my way north.