This is my final blog. I'm writing this at 11:15 PM after getting up at 5:30 AM to go to Florence for the day. Also the metro line A closes at 9:30 and our train got in at 9:35. We proceeded to take the above ground metro bus as a substitute. We took it 4 stops until we realized we were going the wrong direction. Needless to say, an hour and a half later we were home. You could say exhaustion has set in. So bare with me.
My last day in Rome has been one of the best days in Rome. Today we (10 of us) woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn and headed for Florence. When we got there around 9:30 in the morning we headed straight for Academia, the museum that has the statue of David. Half of the group didn't come along but Alexis, Jonah, Marshall and Adam did! When I saw the statue of David for the first time, my jaw nearly hit the ground. It is absolutely amazing and that stupid replica does not do it justice. First off. This statue is HUGE. The detail is out of this world. Honestly, a must see if you go to Florence.
After this we headed to the Duomo too climb to the top of the dome and check things out a bit! Turns out a 10E ticket buys you access into the church, Crypt, bell tower and dome. We did the church and then headed to the bell tower. It was 414 steps to the top. Yep you got that right, 414. No elevator. Going up was pretty not great but once you got to the top, the view was absolutely stunning. If you don't fall in love with Florence up here then I think your eyes must be closed. Loved it.
After this, everyone was really hot and tired so we took a break for lunch. After lunch, Alexis, Hannah, Rachel and I headed off to do some shopping. We spent a lot of time in the San Lorenzo market just taking in all of the stuff they had to offer. We quickly realized that much of the stuff on the street was fake, so we moved into the shops. I found the gifts I was looking for and Alexis found her dream purse! After a quick stop for gelato, we headed over towards the river.
After more stops for shopping, we eventually made our way to the river and the place where they sell all of the gold. The river was absolutely beautiful and I wish we were able to stay long enough to see the sunset. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time for that. We met back up with the group and had a big group dinner. I finally got my caesar salad and we all ordered dessert which was a perfect way to end our last dinner together!
Back to the train station we went and back to Rome. Spending our second to last day not actually in Rome was a really fun thing to do. We got to explore a completely new city and just enjoy the day with zero plan. We wandered, got lost, got found, got gelato and all and all had a pretty amazing day.
Cannot wait to wrap up this chapter in my European adventure and prepare to start another one!
I felt the same way about the David statue Ellie! It was way bigger than I thought! Pictures and recreations don't do it justice. The bell tower was also awesome and totally worth sweating through all my clothes. Florence was a beautiful city!
ReplyDeleteI am a little sad now that I didn't go in to see the statue of David, but i'm really glad you weren't disappointed with it!
ReplyDeleteIf you enjoyed the view from the bell tower, you definitely should have made the hike up the dome as well! It was AWESOME. Florence was a really good Idea i'm so glad that we went! One of my favorite days by far!