SIF: Day 6, 7 & 8

Tuesday May 17
Our morning began bright and early, as always, and we made our way to Florence. The bus was not able to drop us off at the hotel, so we unloaded on the side of the street. Total chaos. 

We navigated to our hotel and left our luggage. Alex led us to the Duomo, where we met our local tour guide. 

Silvia showed us all of the landmarks and beautiful buildings.

Afterwards a few of us toured the Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, and then headed over to the Uffizi, a museum featuring the massive art and sculpture collections of the Medici family. 

Holy cow. It is absolutely astonishing. So many incredible paintings and sculptures. 

Afterwards we met back up with the whole group for dinner. Italy has some pretty spectacular foods. 

Our day ended with friends and a whole lot of laughter. 

Goodnight from Florence! Ready to tackle this city once again tomorrow!

Wednesday May 18

Today is our free day in Florence, and we are making the most of it!

Our morning began at the Accademia, in which we indulged in magnificent works of art and sculptures. 

My favorite was seeing Michelangelo’s  David. Palazzo Vecchio was originally home to the statue, and now features a copy. While the replica was cool, it simply was not the same as the real thing. 

It amazes me that Michelangelo created the David statue while in his 20s. I cannot imagine creating something of such beauty and significance at this point in my life. Michelangelo was incredible. 

After the Accademia, we met up with more from our group and purchased tickets for the Duomo. 

Waiting in line for what seemed like forever, we finally made it to the front, and began the 458 steps to the top. 

Winding around spiral stair cases, walking around the inside of the ornate dome, and more stairs; we reached the top, only slightly terrified, and completely out of breath. 

Even if the stairs had not taken our breath away, the spectacular view did. 

Reaching the bottom, we decided it was time for lunch. Pizza and beer it was. After refueling, we decided to climb to the top of the Bell Tower, except it was only 414 steps to the top. 

Again the steps were exhausting, our stomachs were full of food, and we lost our breath. But it was so worth it. 

The views of the Duomo were absolutely incredible.

After making our way back done, we headed over to the Basilica de Santa Croce. The basilica was gorgeous, and home to the tombs of Michelangel, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini. 

A couple of us then ventured to the Duomo Museum, home to the gorgeous doors originally on the Baptistery.

We booked it through the museum, getting lost several times, to ensure we could make it to the cooking class in time. 

The cooking class optional excursion was fantastic! It was so enjoyable, and making noodles was so much fun. 

Our night ended with an great evening with friends. 

Goodnight Florence, hello Cinque Terre!

Thursday May 19

Waking up at our normal time, we departed Florence, marking the journey to Cinque Terre, with a stop in Pisa. 

Entering Pisa, we were bombarded with tourists, and local merchants trying to sell umbrellas, watches, sunglasses, and rain ponchos. 

Walking into the city, we made our way to the Cathedral and Baptistery. The Cathedral was beautiful, with an incredible alter. 

With some free time after touring the Cathedral, a group of us ventured over to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Yes, the Tower is leaning. Yes, I know that somehow it does not look that way in my photo; but I promise, the Tower really does lean. 

The whole group gathered at 11:20 to enter the Baptistery. Walking up the steps, we circled around the top of the dome. Promptly at 11:30, the Echo began, which displayed the phenomenal acoustics of the Baptistery. 

Departing from Pisa, we continued to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre consists of 5 small towns in Italy along the Mediterranean. I was most excited for our time in Cinque Terre. Collectively the towns are an UNESCO historic site which are only accessible by foot, train, or boat. I loved Cinque Terre.

We toured two of the five towns, starting in Monterosso. The view was gorgeous. We are lunch in Monterosso before we all boarded the train to Vernazza. Oh my goodness.

Seriously. Absolutely incredible. I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful Vernazza is. After spending an hour in awe, and of course, shopping, we took the train back to our bus. 

Then began the bus ride up the mountain to our hotel. A little terrifying. But the views were seriously incredible. 

Our group dinner was provided by the hotel, and it was spectacular. Their spaghetti with pesto was by far the best I have ever eaten.

Exhausted, we all hit the hay early, as we are traveling to Nice tomorrow. 

Goodnight Italy, hello to France!