Firenze

Friday, May 16th

Florence! Where you shop till your feet stop working and you stare at a 17-foot tall man for half an hour.

Today we went to, you guessed it, Florence. The city itself is not as glamorous as it sounds . . . really it's a dirty (smelly) city like any other—except not, because there's a giant Gothic church and baptistry in the center of it (and gelato everywhere). There is also an awesome market where you can buy anything leather, scarves, leather, jewelry, leather . . . The market was one of the two intended sites for our trip today.

The market is set up like any other swap meet/fair-ish place where people sell their products cheaper than in stores. All the booths are lined up and you have to move carefully through the aisles. (Note to shoppers: don't look at anything too long unless you intend to buy it, because those vendors will pounce if they catch you eyeing something in their booth. The key is to use your peripherals.* Bonus challenge: avoid being robbed.)

So I went to the market with the intention of buying gifts for people. I actually succeeded in getting a couple of things, and I even bartered! Go me! Actually on one item I bartered without knowing it, since I told the lady I might come back later (with the actual intention of coming back later, once I caught up with my group) and thinking she was losing a sale, she dropped the price by half. I'll take it!

Probably an important note is that I was bartering in English. Because apparently the Eagle Eye vendors can spot an American tourist from across the piazza. Do I really stand out that much? Come on, people, I've been here for two weeks—I'm practically a native.

Anyway the market was a success, and we're going back to Florence next Friday so I'll have the chance to go another round. After shopping we all met in our big group to go to the Galleria di Accademia, a museum of art that is home to one of the most world-famous sculptures in history.

Michelangelo's David.

This statue can only be truly appreciated by seeing it in person. Pictures cannot prepare you for the sheer size of him or the mastery that produced such a human figure from marble. He has tendons, muscles, veins all over his body that make him appear so real—and the fact that he is so huge and yet still perfectly proportioned (despite massive hands) is a testament to Michelangelo's incomparable talent. I was completely awed when we nonchalantly turned a corner in the gallery and at the end of the hall, there he was. Absolutely magnificent.

Did I mention that Michelangelo created the David when he was 26 years old? Yep. What have I been doing with my life.

(Here is where I would post a picture, if we were allowed to take them inside the museum. Grr.)

Well we finally tore ourselves away from the David and took a quick peek around the rest of the museum (wait, there are other exhibits?) before leaving to catch a bus back to Siena. It was 4:47pm and the next bus left at 5:00. Better walk fast.

So Rebeca, Lauren, and I took off in the general direction of the bus station, stopped for directions once, made it to the station, and narrowly missed being hit by the express bus to Siena as it was pulling in to pick up passengers. We literally were in the process of sitting down on the bus as it pulled away at 5:00pm. Tender mercies in abundance!

For the hour and a half ride home I read a book, napped a bit, and got excited for dinner. After dinner I could relax for the rest of the night. Woot!

I'm excited for a free day tomorrow to walk around Siena or anywhere else. Because I'm in Italy! I gotta live it up.

That's all, folks. A domani.

Ciao!

* "Use your peripherals!" "I'm not really seeing anything, I'm just widening my eyes." —name that movie