Firenze

Ah, Florence...a beautiful city filled with art and culture.  I'd been here before, and I knew there was a lot to see and do, so I planned on staying for about a week.  I bused it from Siena to here, and found a place to stay, which is actually where I stayed with my family six years ago when we were here.  I decided to just walk around the first afternoon to remind myself of the city's layout and all the things to see.  As I wandered around, I realized that I came during the right week as I happened upon a small chocolate festival!  There were a bunch of booths from different chocolate companies selling all kinds of things, from hot chocolate (not the kind we have at home..this is actually thick melted chocolate) to fruit dipped in chocolate to chunks of chocolate shaped like shoes, animals, cell phones, etc., all very realistic looking!  I partook in the festivities, as any normal chocolate-loving person would, before tearing myself away and walking to the Duomo.  I looked around inside, which is pretty, but it's the outside of the church that is really what's stunning.  The white, pink, and green marble is so beautiful and intricate.  I wandered around Florence some more and ended up at...an Irish bar!  (Those of you that know me know this isn't much of a surprise!) I had a pint and watched part of the Italy-England rugby match.  After watching a few matches now here in Europe, I've decided that I like rugby, and the more I watch, the more I understand how it's played.  I've been following the big 6 Nations Rugby tournament going on right now.

I won't do a day-by-day account of my week here in Florence, but will mention the main things I did:
Mercato Centrale - a daily market where there are lots of street vendors trying to sell you all kinds of various things.
Galleria dell'Accademia - before I went to see the statue of David, I went through a small exhibit on musical instruments.  There were various old violins, violas, and guitars on display, but the most interesting part to me was a small room that had different old pianos and harpsichords.  There was a section that demonstrated the difference between the two, which I found very interesting.  Then it was on to see David, of whom I am in awe.  There's something about him...he is incredible to look at.  The entire sculpture is very detailed, from his expression right down to the veins in his neck and arms.  To think Michelangelo carved him from a single block of marble is amazing...I believe it is a true masterpiece of art.
Piazzale Michelangelo - I crossed over the River Arno and climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where you can get an amazing view of the whole city.  If you continue up even further, you come to Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful church atop the hill that also boasts stunning views of the city.
Ponte Vecchio - beautiful old bridge over the River Arno lined with shops, mainly jewelry ones.  I caught a couple nice orange sunsets from here.
Church and Museum of San Marco - interesting museum that used to be a convent.  Each of the small cells has a fresco painted in them depicting various religious scenes. There is also a famous larger fresco - the Annunciation by Fra'Angelico - that is very beautiful.
Museo Bargello - mainly a sculpture gallery housing sculptures by Michelangelo and Donatello, among others. There was also an interesting collection of ivory carvings that were small and amazingly detailed.
Pitti Palace - I started my visit to the Pitti Palace in the Boboli Gardens, which are huge!  I walked uphill past fountains and sculptures to the Porcelain Museum, which I peeked in before wandering and zig-zagging my way around the different paths in the garden.  As I made my way back to the palace, I passed by a zoological museum, La Specola.  I decided to stop in there and found it quite interesting.  It has hundreds and hundreds of animal replications in there.  Some are models, and some are actual taxidermied animals.  You go from room to room, viewing the various animal genuses.  At the end, there were rooms with wax models of the human body.  It reminded me of the traveling exhibition that has actual human bodies preserved so you can see muscles, organs, nerves, etc. It was interesting, but got slightly creepy by the end, and I was ready to leave!  I made my way back to the palace and walked through the Art Gallery and Royal Apartments.
Uffizi Gallery - Last time I was here, we didn't have much time, so it was a bit of a whirlwind trying to see all the famous paintings and find non-existent "goldfish" (that's a joke for Mom and Hoofar!), so this time around, I took my time and made sure to really take in all the beautiful works of art by da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Caravaggio, and many others.
Duomo dome -If you go in the side entrance of the Duomo, you can climb up a spiral staircase into the dome of the church.  It's quite a hike up to the first tier, where you walk around to the opposite side (you can look down into the church and up to see the frescoed dome close-up) to another staircase that takes you to the very top of the dome.  You're outside at this point and can get a 360 degree view of the city.  It's pretty impressive! Then you walk back down part-way to the upper second tier of the dome, where you are even closer to the frescoed ceiling.  After walking around to the other side, you head down another spiral staircase that puts you onto the floor of the church.
Casa di Dante -being an English and literature nerd, I went to check out Dante's House.  It had a little information about Dante Allegheri, but mainly information about what Florence was like during his time.  I sort of went through it quickly, wishing there was more about him and his writings and inspirations.  I remembered feeling this way the last time I was here.
Santa Croce Church - very impressive church that boasts the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and others, along with nice frescoes and paintings.

Lucca - I took a day trip out to Lucca, which is about one hour and twenty minutes from Florence. It is an old town surrounded by a huge wall that goes all the way around the center of the town.  The town itself is pretty small, and I was able to see most sights in the afternoon that I was there. There were some nice squares and small cobblestone streets, but it seemed one of the main things people do there is walk along the wall around the city.  It is very wide on top, and many people were running, walking briskly, or just strolling along.  I walked most of the way around the town before heading back to the train station and Florence.
Cristina - I met up with the cousin of a friend of mine who lives with her husband and children in Florence. We went to a small cafe for foccacia and coffee/tea.  We visited for a while before she had to go.  We had met previously in San Diego, and it was nice to see a friendly face!  On my last day in Florence, we met up again, and I ended up spending the night at her place for one night before heading out to Bologna. Thanks Cristina! :)

Florence is quite a lovely city.  There is so much to see, you could spend weeks exploring all the amazing things it has to offer.  But, it was time to move on, for the rest of Italy was waiting...