calling from some city...

Today was our second and last day in Florence. It definitely felt like we could have spent more time here- 2 days is not a lot of time at all. At the same time, we did a lot of sightseeing and I hope to return to Florence again. It’s such a great city- has a lot to do, fantastic Tuscan food and gelato, and it’s a really easy city to walk around and see. My one complaint of Rome is that it’s so big that it’s hard to walk everywhere, plus you have to deal with a lot of traffic. Florence is different not only because its smaller, but also because many of the squares and streets around major sites are pedestrian only, making it much more pleasant to stroll around the city.

Anyways, we got up around 9 and took our time getting ready. Our Aussie male roommates checked out in the morning, so Scott was able to move his stuff into our room, which is more convenient. A little after 11, we headed out for the day. Our first stop was breakfast because we were hungry, and we had noticed an American style breakfast place near the hostel. We saw the menu, and once noting that pancakes were available, immediately sat down. Basically since we have arrived Sara has wanted pancakes. She keeps saying the first meal she is going to have once she lands home is pancakes. So I was happy she was getting her pancakes a couple weeks early. We all ordered pancakes as well. I got mine with bananas and they were delicious.

After breakfast, Sara and Scott headed to their reservation at the Uffizi Gallery. I had already toured the Uffizi the first time I was in Rome, so I decided to see the Pitti Palace. I strolled over Ponte Vecchio to get there, and found it quickly. I was excited because I love palaces- the more decadent and gaudy, the better. I can’t even imagine that people actually once lived there- it’s amazing to think how wealthy they were compared to the average person. The Pitti Palace was a Renaissance Palace, so it was built in the mid 1400’s. It was bought by the prominent Medici family of Florence and many ruling families lived there, including Napoleon during his reign. Today, it’s open to the public to explore some of the Royal Apartment, and this rest is several museums.

There was no line to get into the palace, so I got in right away and started with the Palatine Gallery, the main museum of the palace. The collection contains major works by Raphael, Carravaggio, Botticelli, and Titian- all painters I studied last year when in Rome. Many of the paintings were absolutely massive- taking up most of entire walls. The paintings were also in huge gold decorated frames, making them even more impressive. Since the paintings are hung on the walls of the former palace, the actual rooms are absolutely beautiful. Nearly every room has an impressive chandelier, and the ceilings were absolutely incredible. Each had a huge painting that took up the whole ceiling, and then the edges had decorations and carvings. Plus, each room had a different color theme. So overall the whole visual was beautiful. My favorite ceiling was entirely white, with an enormous chandelier in the center.

After the Palatine Gallery you’re able to check out some rooms of the Royal Apartments- so I saw bedrooms, a bathroom, meeting rooms, and the throne room. The throne room was obviously gorgeous- everything deep red and gold, with the throne in the center of the room. I really wanted to climb over the ropes and sit on the chair, but figured that would get me kicked out. I also enjoyed seeing the Queen’s chambers, which was blue and gold- though her bed was smaller than I expected (it was built in the early 1800’s). She also had a “meeting room” right off of her bedroom where her guests would wait. A final highlight was seeing a bathroom from when Napoleon ruled from the palace- the bathtub was surprisingly small.

Anyways, after I got a sandwich to go and ate near the Duomo. I didn’t feel like seeing any other museums, so I just strolled around for about an hour and browsed some shops. It was then time to meet back with Scott and Sara at Ben and Jerry-s (seriously- right next to the Duomo) and we got in line for climbing the dome. This dome was 463 stairs- but after the initial steps, it wasn’t too strenuous. Once the stairs start spiraling upwards, you’re just concentrating on stepping in the tight enclosed space, so you don’t really feel tired doing in. Or we’ve just become pros at climbing steps by now. We got to the top and took pictures and relaxed there for 30 minutes.

After we climbed down it was time for dinner. We went back to the restaurant from the night before because it was so good. After we walked back toward the Duomo to get gelato at a well known place and it was of course delicious. On the way back to the hostel, Scott got seconds for gelato because he wanted the cinnamon gelato from the previous night. After getting back to the hostel, Scott and I went for a swim in the hostel pool for 30 minutes and now we are just relaxing.

Onto Cinque Terre, Italy tomorrow for the weekend! This is the place I am most looking forward to on the trip so I am so excited!