Florence

***Details may be vague considering the time lapse since returning home.***

Coming into this trip, I was most excited to visit Rome, because it was the city of the 3 that I (like most people) knew the most about. I had always heard about Florence as being a beautiful city to visit, but really didn't know too much about it. 

Needless to say, Florence was amazing, and held just as much significant art and architecture as Rome (especially for the European/Italian Renaissance). 

We were up bright and early to leave for our trip, imagine that. :) We headed out from the Genoa-Principe train station at about 7:45AM. We had a transfer in Pisa around 10:20AM and finally arrived at our first stop of the trip, Florence (or Firenze to the Italians) around 11:30 AM on Friday, January 30th and spent 4 days there, leaving early afternoon on Monday, February 2nd. 

For our stay in Florence, we were at Hostel Costantini. I believe it was family owned, and the man that was working each morning when we left was the sweetest man ever!! I really just wanted to bring him back to the Villa with us. It was quaint and cozy, and the entire length of our stay, we were pretty much the only ones there. And, it just happened to be right in front of the Florence Cathedral. Florence is known for the Cathedral, which is in the center of the city and includes the duomo as well; which hails the more widely known name, Brunelleschi's Dome. It stands at a total of 375 feet. And it was the direct view from our window. 

Hotel Costantini

Brunelleschi's Dome

After arriving, we settled into our rooms, and had about 1 hour to grab some lunch. 

Sidenote: Being the very popular Italian city that it is, Florence is quite expensive due to its high rate of tourists. Everything is WAY overpriced and more people are speaking English than Italian. It was kind of weird...we had hoped to take our very first big trip in Italy and take a stab at using our newly acquired Italian. But most wait staff in the restaurants we went into -after saying, "Hello, I'd like...." in Italian- would reply back to us in perfect English. So communicating while in Florence was not an issue nor making requests at restaurants. In fact, while sightseeing in Florence, we noticed such a wide range of languages and people being heard and seen. 

So anywho, lunch wasn't difficult to get, but it was a very expensive sandwich and Coke....that if I remember correctly cost 5 euro ($6.40 in American dollars). Eeesh. 

Lunchtime

After lunch we headed to the famous museum of Florence, The Uffizi. Many famous works are housed here; some that I didn't even realize were as famous as they are, or that they even existed. Those that you might recognize include: The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli; Self Portrait as a Young Man, by Rembrandt; The Annuciation by da Vinci; and Diptych of Duke and Duchess Battista by Piero della Francesca. 

Me and my love with our Uffizi tickets...pretty pivotal moment :) 

The Uffizi...I have no pictures from inside or of the works of art...they are SUPER strict on the "No Foto" policy

We hit a pretty good, but expensive restaurant that night for dinner. Nothing worth writing home about though. :) 

On our 2nd day, we were given a tour with Professor Jane Zaloga in order to see specifically, works by Michelangelo and to gain more information about the Medici family. We gained a lot of knowledge about them (I wasn't actually aware of them prior to this trip) and visited where they are buried, but you can learn a lot more if you check out their link. :)

We went with Professor Zaloga for many, many hours until we finally took a short break for lunch. A group of us got some pizza at a little pizzeria, and then we were off again for the afternoon with Professor Zaloga to see Florence's fede politica (political faith) aspect. 

Professor Jane Zaloga

Interior of Basilica Di San Lorenzo

A ministry card from Basilica di San Lorenzo 

Of course, as you've already probably read, a lot of sketching, primarily by the students takes place while here traveling in Europe. Before leaving, me and the hubby got a sketch book for myself so that I could dabble a bit in the sketching. I did my very first in one the churches we visited with Professor Zaloga. I was pretty excited and proud!! 

My very first sketch

One VERY cool thing did happen that day (actually probably one of the coolest things we saw on the entire trip). Professor Zaloga let us know of a church on the tip top of the mountain, overlooking all of Florence, that led actual Gregorian chants in the evenings around 5PM. She finished up with us quickly enough that we could hop a bus to the top and have the opportunity to see it. Truly awesome!! 

The church of the Gregorian Chants

The view from the top

All in all it was a good day, but filled with lots of information. 

On our 3rd day in the beautiful city of Florence, we were guided by our ever faithful and wonderful tour guide, Giuditta. We began our day like any other would want to....by visiting Museo Dell'Accademia and seeing the one and only Michelangelo's David!!! Yeah, you read that correctly. I don't really know what to say, except that I can't believe I had the opportunity to see it. :) I will say, a man giving a private tour to another man (both around their mid to late 30's) approached me and said, "Mam'.....I'm so sorry to bother you, but, may I ask you a question?" I nervously replied, "Well....sure, I guess..." He goes on to ask, "Do you prefer a man....like that??" He was of course, referring to the "enhancing" sculpture of David's manly physique. I didnt' know what to say!! I finally -through his explanation of asking- said, "Sure....I guess." It was quite hilarious. He then went on to tell the other man that he was giving the tour to that every time he and his wife visited the statue of David together, she always remarked, "Now THAT is the way a man was meant to look!!' Ha!!! :) 

THE David...with such a manly physique ;) 

Much after David doesn't really matter. Haha, jk!! We then headed off to Ponte Vecchio which is also another point that makes Florence famous. In addition, we visited some palazzo(s), chiesa(s), the Florence train station, and the stadium of Florence by Nervi (one of my LEAST favorite architects I'm quickly learning).

Ponte Vecchio

We did visit Chiesa Di Santa Maria Novella that day; which changed my world!! Even at this point in the semester, of all the churches we've seen before and since then, it is my absolute favorite. The churches of Europe are so elaborate in detail; interior as well as exterior. Although beautiful to look at, I can't help but think it takes away from the worship and true purpose of the church. It seems to be more about the outward appearance of the church rather than the inward experience. But this one was different. There was so little interior detail, I felt like the emphasis was finally appropriate. It's very hard to explain, but it's the first church we've visited that I could feel a true intimacy and reverence in. It was the most beautiful church I have ever been in. 

Chiesa Di Santa Maria Novella 

We finished up the day and had dinner at a quaint restaurant that we happened upon and seemed less toursity. Apparently reservations are highly recommended (we had a rather larger group of about 11) but to prove how awesome this place was, they welcomed us with open arms. I had pasta, ravioli to be exact, and it was DE-licious. 

For our 4th and final day in Florence, we saved the BEST for last -the aforementioned Florence Cathedral and Dome. Oh baby!!! Not only were we able to visit (and take pictures within the cathedral) but we willingly made the 463 steps through the cupola to the very top of the duomo. That's right, we went to the top of Brunelleschi's Dome. At this point in the semester, we have been to the top of a lot of domes and buildings. By far, Brunelleschi's is my 2nd favorite view (the 1st to come later while in Rome)!!! 

Florence Cathedral and Brunelleschi's Dome

The view from the top

Some of the group at the top of Brunelleschi's Dome

Good calzones make my bebeh pretty excited

After only about 3 or so hours of discovering the cathedral and dome, we grabbed a quick lunch at a fabulous pizzeria, went back to the hotel and got our things, and we were on the train headed to our second stop of the trip, Siena.