Firenze

sorry, no pictures again!

Florence was magnifico. The city of the birth of Western Civ as we know it! I found it rather monumental to be there in that great city. And it was so beautiful.

I arrived at night and found my hostel relatively easily. Thank heavens for hostels near train stations. The next day was when the real fun began.

I woke up early (which, by the way, is the best time to see any city - when it's waking up! AND the double plus of going early in a touristy city? You get all the sites to yourself.). First stop: Il Duomo and the Baptistry. THE place/event/thing that started the Renaissance...well, at least to me. See, the Medici Family was a powerful family in Florence in the 1400's. They held a contest for artisans to create the best doors for the Baptistry outside the Duomo. It came down to Gheberti's doors, or Brunelleschi's Doors. After much debate, Gheberti won (in one of those "underdog beats the old master"kind of moments...) and in a fury, Brunelleschi left the city. [don't worry, he came back and saved the day when he was the only one who could figure out how to successfully place a dome on the magnificent church {a church whose dome, btw, became the model for churches (and out capitol building) all over the world}].

SOOO Gheberti won, and it was magnificent. Michaelangelo saw the doors as a youth, and said that they were so beautiful, they were like the "Gates of Paradise" - which is the name they are referred to as even today.

The Medicis continued to pump money into the arts and sciences for the next little while, effectively revving up the Renaissance and bringing Europe out of the dark ages. Thank Heavens! and it happened in FLORENCE!! and I was THERE!! seriously, so cool.

i climbed to the tippy top of the dome (423 steps, thank you very much!), and the sight was beautiful. you know in mary poppins, when they're looking over the city at twilight, and it's just stunning? yeah, it was like that. If you feel like a hike up narrow, tight, windy staircases, then this one is for you! it's really worth it too, trust me.

While in Firenze, I spent a lot of time wandering the streets. It's so fun to just get lost in a city, and watch the people. The flea market was huge and fun, Santa Croce has the tombs of many a famous person (da Vinci, Galileo, Machiavelli, etc etc....), I saw the Uffizi, Michaelangelo's David, the Academia, had real italian pasta (it was so-so....) and pizza (BEST thin-crust pizza EVER), as well as fun along the river.

Italy is so colorful and lively. It's exactly as I pictured it. And it was fun to be there in off-season, and see their christmas market. Every country is different, and Italy's was more craft-driven than Germany. So many cute things!

go to italy. you'll love it.