We arrived Saturday afternoon and after finding the hostel, checking in and getting settled it was after 3 that we began an exploratory walk around the city. Many of the sights had lines out the doors and were closing at 5 so we rain-checked for another day. We were very tired from a day of traveling and a sleepless night (thanks to a Spanish Middle School’s trip to Venice) so we headed back. Also, somehow I had hurt my foot in Venice and the pain was increasing. Fortunately the hotel gave us free internet access and I was able to diagnose my foot on webMD. Ice, elevation, rest, and a brace, it suggested. All of that would be a problem (Europe doesn’t care for ice, we would be walking around each and every city for the next 8 days, in a hostel there isn’t a comfortable convenient place to elevate your foot) except for the brace. As I am too cheap to buy a brace at a pharmacy, I used my tights. Thanks ingenuity! It worked like a charm and I had few if any problem with my foot after that.
After an uneventful but relaxing Saturday night, we woke up wide eyed and bushy tailed for a day in Florence! Since we hadn’t done anything the day before, and we would be leaving the next afternoon, we really needed to get some stuff in. Two friends who I had met in Scotland, were good enough to come down from Verona to see me for the day. We thought we could sneak in a visit to the Academy Gallery, the home of Michelangelo’s David, before they arrived but it turns out the line took over an hour and we would have entered at the same time that they arrived. We were able to go with reservations later that evening. It was marvelous when we went. They have some of the unfinished works by Michelangelo and David of course, as well as more renaissance paintings. You’re not actually allowed to take pictures, so I had the sneak the three that I took. (Pictures on the link below!)
Catching up with Stefania and Sabrina was lovely. We left Glasgow 2 years ago and hadn’t really kept in contact since. They are both happily leading lives in the real world with jobs and what-not. They toured the city along with us and helped us translate at times. In the afternoon we were due for our reservation at the Gallery and they needed to catch their train, but we had ha such a great time, it was sad to say goodbye again.
Our last day in Venice was the day we the most touring. We started the day with the free tour that the hostel offered. It was a really great tour. She told us the history of the beautiful Duomo cathedral and it’s Dome. We went to the museum and house of Dante Alighieri (author of the Divine Comedy—the first ever work in Italian) and she pointed out the plaques above the street signs that were excerpts from his works that mentioned the building, shop, or family who were on that street. We passed by the “little pig” which is a bronze statue of a boar that supposedly inspired Has Christian Andersen to write a story and also will ensure your return to Florence if you touch its nose. We took a break in the most fantastic gelato shop, that she told us really makes its own gelato unlike the other stores that buy it frozen and resell it. We ended at the church where Michelangelo is buried.
After the tour we headed over to the Duomo Cathedral to see the inside and then climb the Dome. The Cathedral is rather impressive. The outside is white, green, and pink marble. And, of course, it is very large. Our tour guide called our attentions to what we believed we paintings above the doors of the entrances. Obviously paintings would not be able to withstand the weather so they made them very detailed mosaics. You can just barely tell it’s tile and not paint. The inside was quite large too. The largest part was the Dome. My pictures don’t do justice to the height of it all. The man who built the dome, Filippo Brunelleschi, did a most incredible job. The more incredible thing about what he did is that even today they don’t know how he accomplished such a feat. He built the dome around 1400 and it’s still standing today. No problems what so ever. He did it without scaffolding and of course no cranes (as they didn’t exist back then) AND at such a height and over such a great area that it is simply miraculous. We don’t know how he did it because he left no plans, blueprints, or writings describing how he did it. To get to the top, the spiral staircase, cross the ledge of the dome, wind through tight corridors between the two layers of the domes, mount the steep stairway, and you’ve made it! At the top of the climb you are rewarded with a beautiful view of Florentine roofs backed by the green Tuscan hills and a clear, blue sky. Worth every single one of the 468 stairs.
As I am mildly afraid of heights, some of this journey was a bit difficult for me. On top of the Dome, was perfectly fine. No problems there what so ever. It was crossing the ledge of the dome on the inside of the cathedral. The ledge is about 2.5 feet from the wall to the stone barrier and then there is plexiglass from your feet to as far as you can stretch your arms. It’s perfectly safe, of course. However, it’s just that you can really see and feel the height. On the way up the line moved smoothly and we were on and off the ledge quickly. However, on the way down, you are on a ledge that is one feel higher than the last. At this level you can touch the paintings of demons and angels on the ceiling of the dome. I was nervous and bothered and of course the line slowed to a stop because people were taking pictures of the artwork. One man was taking his camera and putting it just over the plexiglass to get a better photo. It gives me chills just thinking about it. FINALLY, the line began to move again, much to my relief. However the family just ahead of us was still leaning against the railing, taking their time to enjoy the splendors of the art work. Hmm… how can I do this diplomatically? I tapped the woman on the shoulder and asked her if I could simply go around them. But this message didn’t go through. She fussed at me angrily in spanish and then walked. Sara, who is Mexican (i.e. speaks Spanish ;) ), was right behind me just laughed a bit and said “she is NOT happy.” I didn’t want the translation so I didn’t ask. Well, not the way I wanted it to go but none-the-less mission accomplished. We left the beautiful cathedral just in time to catch our train to Rome.
Click on the image below for pictures of Florence
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| Florence |
