Day 194 - Florence to Rome

Not a very exciting day today, but basically a transportation and "getting situated" type of day, which usually gets me very lazy and/or sleepy when I arrive at the next city.

I took an afternoon train from Florence to Rome, which took about 3.5 hours. It gave me ample time to read since the train didn't stop and go as much as some of the other trains, even though I picked one of the cheapest tickets and trains I could find.

Booked one of the same hostels I booked in Rome when I was first here with my cousin and just relaxed in the room most of the afternoon before searching for dinner. I ended up having Chinese food since I craved it, and it's nice to be around my peoples once in a while. You can always find a Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world!

Firenze Rifredi Stazione

Day 193 - Last Day in Florence and the Uffizi Gallery

Today would be my last full day in Florence, and I made sure to visit one last museum, the Uffizi Gallery, before heading back to Rome.

I first met up with Alessandro in the early afternoon and he took me to one of the less visited churches in Florence, the San Miniato al Monte, on the other side of the Arno River. There was a large cemetery at the back of the church where some of Florentine's famous are buried. Like the cemetery I visited in Prague, there were plots of land with Huge tombstones and/or statues for the dead. Inside, Alessandro pointed out the tombstone tiles on the floor of the church, and said that many people were buried right under the church during the Black Plague because there wasn't enough land outside the church. Just a few hundred meters away from this church was another church, the San Francesco, where I made a quick visit.

Heading back across the Arno River, I made my way to the Uffizi Gallery, which is a huge museum full of Italian Renaissance Art and sculptures. The Gallery holds all the artwork from the Medici family and includes many works by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rafael, among a bunch of other artists. The most recognizable artwork that is in the gallery's possession was probably Botticelli's Birth of Venus which I immediately recognized when I walked into one of the rooms (there must have been over 50 different spaces to walk through on 2 floors to get through all the artwork). It took so long to go through the gallery that I got really tired and restless by the end of it, and I already feel like I'm all museum'd out through these past 6+ months!

Back to Rome tomorrow!

San Miniato al Monte

The Americas are believed to have derived their name from this man. There were other famous Florentine statues near the Uffizi Gallery. I found all the ninja turtles except Rafael.

Arno River

Uffizi Gallery

Day 192 - Siena

Another day outside of Florence, this time visiting Siena, which is also part of the Tuscan region. Again, Italian locals have recommended that I see this city and make a full day trip out of it.

The most famous thing about this city is that it holds an annual horse race called the Il Palio around the city's main Plaza, the Piazza del Campo. I was unfortunately not here at the right time to witness this event though, as it is held in the summer months.

People have told me that you really get a sense of the Medieval Gothic architecture when you walk around Siena, and I definitely saw a lot of it as I walked through the city center, stopping first at the Piazza del Campo, a huge open area where people leisurely sit to converse with each other, read a book, or visit the Palazzo Publico.

I headed towards the Duomo (every city in Italy has a grand church to visit) where I bought an all-inclusive ticket for entrances into the church, crypt, baptistery, and museum. My favorite part of the day was walking to the top of the museum, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, and up a couple flights of very narrow spiral steps to an area outside, providing panoramic views of the city. I could see in the distance that there were beautiful, hilly, countryside spots just outside the city. I wish I could have seen more of the countryside of Tuscany, but I got quick glimpses of it on the bus ride here and back to Florence.

Siena's Duomo

Crypt

Baptistery

Panoramic Views outside the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

Piazza del Campo

Day 190 - Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia

I left the hostel at check out time and headed to Alessandro's place to drop all my luggage off before heading out to explore Florence. Heading to the city center was easy, but when I got to the Duomo, I could see and hear the marathon, as participants ran through and around all the historical buildings. I think it would be really cool and motivating to run through a city like Florence, with so much ancient history around. I already thought it would be cool to run through Los Angeles, getting a good dose of the city through the 26 miles you run, but there is something extra special running through such old cities like Florence, or any other famous European city. It was the first time I was really near the action of the marathon. I once found my friend at the finish line after she finished, but I never saw how exhilarating it was to be a spectator or especially a runner, with so many people yelling and shouting and cheering you on. It must make such a difference to the moral of each runner to know everyone is there to support you.

After walking through the maze of detours to get from one side of the running track to the other, I found the Galleria dell'Accademia, which is the gallery where Michelangelo's famous David statue is located. Alessandro recommended that I see it because it was so much better in person compared to the pictures you see, and he was right. Throughout my life, I've glanced at a picture of the statue at various times, not really admiring it or paying attention to how important such an art piece was, but it was such a magnificent sight to see when I saw it in person, standing below his feet while he towered over the entire room. I couldn't believe the details throughout the statue, and how painstakingly he must have worked at making such a "perfect man." There were definitely imperfections in the proportions, as I noticed that the hands looked way too big for the rest of the statue, but that was easily forgiven when I saw the details in the hands, and the muscles around the legs, especially the calves. You take a look at the muscles on your calves and you see how it curves slightly at different parts to form the muscle. All of this was taken into consideration when Michelangelo carved this statue out of a single piece of marble. It's called the "perfect man" and I wouldn't mind it if I looked even remotely like David, or had the muscles he had.

I headed for lunch after the museum visit, when the marathon was winding down with the few remaining runners, opting to have a pizza with olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and ham, all in different sections of the pizza and not mixed together.

The last stop today was the Piazzale Michelangelo, which was an area on the other side of the Arno River and away from the city center, high above the rest of the city with great views of Florence, especially while the sun was setting. There was a musician at the bottom of the stairs, performing popular songs in Italian, English, and French. Locals and tourists alike congregated in the area, taking in the views, or even just sitting on the stairs to relax as the sun set. A perfect transition from day to night.

Sneaking a picture of Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia

Firenze Marathon

One of Michelangelo's uncomplete works

Perseus Killing Medusa - Piazza della Signora

Piazzale Michelangelo

Day 189 - Bologna to Florence (Firenze)

I took a short, afternoon, hour-long train ride to get from Bologna to Florence, one of the bigger cities of the Tuscan region of Italy. Upon arrival, I headed to my hostel, where I stayed there for a good couple of hours, sort of exhausted from traveling through Italy thus far. I'm enjoying reading a book that has picked up a lot of hype due to the release of the movie trailer for it - The Hunger Games. It's definitely a light read, fast-paced, and plot driven, but very entertaining. I can hardly put the book down, but I'm trying to balance it out by reading Jane Austin's Persuasion at the same time.

I set out for town after the sunset to take in a small dose of the city. You could definitely tell this was a popular tourist destination by the number of souvenir stalls lined around the streets. I also heard a greater amount of English here than in some of the other cities in Italy that I visited. The city was packed and lively, and this could possibly be due to the Firenze Marathon that is being held tomorrow.

Wandering through the streets, I made my way to the city center, where I came across Piazza del Duomo, where the Duomo and the Campanile were situated. Most of the churchs and other sites close early during the colder months, maybe around 5pm, so I wasn't able to enter any of them. I followed street signs that led to various other tourist sights and found the Chisea Santa Maria de Ricci, where there was an organ concert open to the public and a nativity scene right in the middle of the church. It's Christmas time!

At the end of the night, I met up with a Couchsurfer, Alessando, who grabbed a beer with me at an Irish Pub. He told me of a good place to grab dinner, called Baldovino, where I decided to dine on my first night here. It's always great to get advice from locals.

Duomo

Chisea Santa Maria de Ricci