Ciao from Firenze everyone.  My short stay in Florence is already over and it has been a wonderful experience.  I think I have done more today than any other day during this trip as I tried to fit everything Florence has to offer into about a seven or eight hour window.  I had the same experience with Paris, France, so I was sure I would be able to fit Florence in.

I awoke this morning and checked out of the Hotel American and used the vaporetto to reach Venezia Saint Lucia train station.  I bid adieu (sadly) to Venice and boarded the high speed train “Le Frecce” bound for Florence.  I was quite relieved to notice no one sitting next to me or across from me.  The train was rather empty.  Once we hit the mainland, this changed.

The next stop, Venezia Mestre, was full of people and sure enough the area around me filled up.  I sat across from about a 6 year old Italian boy, and his mother sat next to me.  He took out his plastic toy soldiers, and he had an entire army of soldiers, tanks, and aircraft.  I was quite impressed.  He was just like me at that age!

I was excited to see the scenery on the trip, but overall was a dissapointment.  Right as we left Venice and the mainland, it became foggy.  All I could make out was snow on the ground.  The fog gave way when we reached Bologna, but Bologna was not very scenic.  We then arrived in the mountains and I was excited to see them, but we went through mountain tunnels for most of the journey from Bologna to Florence.  We eventually arrived at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Station and I got my belongings and entered the city.

I began to find my way to the main square of town and was stopped to ask to sign a petition.  Being stupid, I agreed.  As I began to write my name down,the thought popped into my head that what I was doing was stupid.  I quickly scratched out my name and wrote a generic name.  Whatever they were petitioning for, they have the support of James Johnson of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

I arrived at the Hotel De Lanzi, which is located right next to the main square of the city.  The main square features the Florence Cathedral, also known as The Basilica di Santa Maria de Fiore (Saint Mary the Flower).  It is also locally known as the Duomo, and that is what I refer to it as.

I began with a quick walking tour and arrived at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s town hall.  I then passed through the Uffizi Museum’s courtyard and arrived at the Arno River.  I went and saw the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, before heading back to the Duomo.

I went inside the Duomo and saw the inner workings of the church.  Following this I paid $6 euro to climb Giotto’s Campanile, a bell tower located next to the Duomo.  Everyone says you have to climb either it or the dome of the Duomo, so I decided to climb the bell tower.  415 steps was quite a hike and it took me awhile to get to the top.  They kept having levels that tricked you into believing you were at the top.  About four levels later, I finally arrived at the top.

The view was awesome.  I got to see the Duomo from the air and it was quite beautiful.  You could see the rolling hills of Tuscany in the distance.  Florence truly is a compact city, and you can tell from the tower.

I then headed for the Medici Chapels.  I did not go inside, but got to see them from the outside.  They were the private churches of the esteemed Medici family.  I felt like royalty seeing them.

I ate lunch near the train station and decided to make church runs.  I saw Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella before heading to the Basilica di Santa Croce.  Santa Croce was very interesting because it contained the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.  I was quite excited to see these graves and was glad I had decided to visit San Croce.

After touring the entire church and the adjoining museum, I went along the Arno River in search of Piazzale Michelangelo, a lovely plaza located on a hill just outside of town.  It is supposed to give you wonderful views of the city of Florence.  It was quite a hike and the last part of the climb was up steep stairs and it was almost the end of me.  I don’t think I’ve ever drank a Powerade as quickly as I did when I got up there.  Luckily for me, the views were worth it.  I’m a sucker for panorama views and this one gave a great view of the city.

I headed back towards city center and went into the Uffizi Gallery, regarded as one of the nicest art museums in the world.  I looked pretty stupid when I got inside and asked where Michelangelo’s David was.  I had gone into the wrong museum. I quickly toured the Uffizi before heading the the Gallery Accademia, the actual home of David.  David was a large statue that has virtually no flaws.  Pictures are forbidden, but of course I took one anyway!

I returned to my hotel and met two of my Venice classmates for dinner.  It was delicious and we then went for some gelato.  I then came back to the hotel and am preparing for bed as I have a 9am train tomorrow for Rome.

Tuscany is very different from the Veneto, as Florence is different from Venice.  I have seen two different Italy’s and I’m glad I have.  They both have their strong points and its good to see the diversity of the country.

I wish I had more than just this short time to visit Florence.  Florence was my original study abroad destination, so hopefully I can come back one day and explore it more.  Ciao from Firenze

Here are the links for the two Florence picture albums:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2539375769346.2117799.1402200167&type=1&l=530a190a6e

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2539442131005.2117803.1402200167&type=1&l=3761f5368b