Chapter 7: Residents for a semester, Shameless tourists for a day

I've been incredibly lucky to be raised by parents who love to travel, and who are good at it. This is semester is completely different than any vacation I've ever been on though, for lots of reasons. First of all, I'm used to my parents planning everything: doing the research, buying the tickets, mapping out transportation, time management, and of course, financing it all. This semester I'm on my own! I have great guide books and maps, but the best part is that for the first time in my life, I don't have to pack an entire city's or country's attractions into a day or a few days, I have all semester! And Florence really is an absolutely amazing city. It's the birthplace of the entire Renaissance, and as Rick Steves put it in his guidebook, "Imagine guys like Michelangelo and Leonardo going to high school together."

Dana and I decided we wanted to see (some of) the best Florence had to offer on a day-long walking tour of our new city, so I had my first taste of what my parents have been doing for years- and sunk my teeth into my guidebooks and maps to plan out a day of being shameless back-pack wearing, camera clutching tourists in our own town. We started out at the Accademia Gallery, where some of the most important art of the Humanist movement are housed, including Michelangelo's David. I can't believe I live two blocks away from this! The David is amazing, the definition of the Renaissance man, and so much taller and more impressive in person than I realized.

Next, we walked from the Duomo, the most prominent feature of Florence's skyline. The Duomo Cathedral is home to Brunelleschi's dome, the very first Renaissance dome, and a model for every one that came after it! One of my guidebooks says that when Michelangelo was plannning St. Peter's in Rome, he rhymed (but not in English), "I can build its sister- bigger, but not more beautiful." It's fantastic from the outside, breathtaking from the inside.

An exact replica of Ghiberti's Doors (the Gates of Paradise, as Michelangelo nicknamed them) are on the baptistry right across from the cathedral. Ghiberti made the doors to mark Florence's deliverance from the plague. I think the original panels are in separate museums today, but I'd love to see them while I'm here.

After that, we walked to the Uffizi Gallery, home to amazing paintings from the 14th to the 17th century, including several by Caravaggio, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael, and my favorite, Botticelli.... amazing.

I could have stayed all day, but it closed at 7pm, when we headed outside to the edge of the Arno River. We watched the sun set over Ponte Vechhio (literally just means Old Bridge), which is the only historic bridge across the Arno in Florence still standing. The rest were destroyed during WWII. Ponte Vecchio is lined with fancy little shops selling gold and silver, and a statue of Cellini, the most important goldsmith of the Renaissance, is right in the center of the bridge.

After yet another delicious dinner at yet another charming little outdoor cafe, we stopped on our walk back home for more gelato to eat on the steps ofthe Duomo after dark. I couldn't be happier! I feel like I'm living in a postcard.

Two days later, an ATM ate my debit card. So it goes.