Nov. 3rd, Florence

We arrived in Florence by train on Thursday, and after settling into the relatively bare hostel my roommate and I set off to see as many sites as possible. I have to admit this city has a lot to see and offer, especially to those who love art. I recommend at least 2 or 3 days to see this city. The first stop was the Duomo (large church) since it was near our hostel. This thing is freakin huge! The outside is ornate and very grand. Now that I was all excited for religion and stuff I decided to head in with the promise of an exquisite interior. "What the hell?" where pretty much the first words out of my mouth. The interior was as plain as can be. Nothing was even inside! Religion was ruined for me yet again. Promises undelivered, I, a dejected husk of my former self, marched on towards other attractions. I decided to head over to a famous piazza which has numerous replicas of famous sculptures. Again, I can't remember the name; however, the David replica was there, the Uffizi Museum, which has the Birth of Venus painting, and several other museums were all in one spot. All I have to say is that the lines were long and the day was slipping away. So all I saw were the sculptures in the plaza and the exterior of the museums which were nice. Off to the Medici palace! We crossed the river on a bridge which actually has a bunch of houses and shops built on it. It was definitely different. After crossing the unique bridge we came upon the massive Medici palace which has been turned into a museum. The museum hosts a number of modern art collections and displays how the palace use to look in some areas. The interior is beautiful each room had some kind of fresco on the ceiling and marble everything. The most rewarding part of the trip was the Boboli gardens which is behind the palace. The gardens are gigantic and easy to lose yourself in. There are shrubs, trees, and hidden paths everywhere. There were rewards at the end of each path or hiding between large shrubs. Fountains and sculptures were waiting to be discovered. The views were amazing too. After the palace and its gardens we decided to try and head over to Sante Croce which houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and other famous Italians. Again, no dice. The day was late and the place was closed, but the exterior is nice. My roommate and I then decided to walk around aimlessly, eat dinner, and call it an early night.

The Duomo.

The Duomo side. No pics of the interior though, you'll just be disappointed.

Ponte Vecchio bridge stretching across the Arno river.

The replica of David. Hello sack!

The Boboli Gardens

Reverse angle

One of the main paths.

One of the main fountains.

Me in all my splendor.

The Florence skyline as seen form the top of the gardens.

A view of the country side as seen from one of the various side gardens.

Next stop, Milan!