Pisa was probably the best people watching experience of our trip so far. Scattered across the lawn in front of the tower were countless amounts of people sticking their butts out pretending to be pushing the leaning tower but really only holding their hands in the air…. Truly a sight to see.
A few hours later we had arrived at our hotel in Florence, Hotel Pendini, in a perfect location on Via Strozzi directly off the Plaza della Repubblica and within walking distance to all the sights in the city (once again... lots of walking!). Plaza della Repubblica marks the intersection of two main roads forming a cross in the middle of the city. As soon as we checked into our room and dropped off our backpacks we went out to explore the ancient streets of Florence which we quickly found started and stopped without rhyme or reason making finding our way around difficult at first.
Because of a recommendation from a friend who studied here last year we ate one of our favorite meals of the trip that night at a quaint restaurant called Za-Za’s where we enjoyed a fresh caprese salad, ravioli in walnut sauce, rigatoni, and a glass of rosée surrounded by tables of loud and stereotypical Italian men sprinkled with a few American tourists (Thanks Dominique!).
As we moved on we walked by Dante’s house (or near where they suspect he may have lived in Florence), enjoyed watching some local artisans create a chalk mural on the street, and perused through Mercato Nuovo aka the Straw Market where we touched the
Our tour ended at Santa Croce Church which houses wonderful art and the tombs of great Florentines including Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
After grabbing a quick Margherita con frites (pizza with French fries on top) and some gelato we met back up with the group at Uffizi Gallery where we spent a couple hours looking at untitled art. Not wanting to see one more piece of Italian art we visited more markets and shops on our way back to our hotel.
Dinner that night was at a local family owned restaurant recommended to us by the receptionist at our hotel… another good meal of homemade pheasant ravioli. After a toast by fellow Chapman student Alex to the wonderful trip we had had so far we made our way to a local bar and then onto a discotecca called Twice. Our goal of buying as few drinks as possible while in Europe was accomplished as we invited ourselves into a VIP lounge where three American guys bought all the girls sparkling buckets of champagne and Grey Goose until 4:00 am… Thank you America!
Our Italian adventure ended on Sunday after we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David—our favorite experience in Florence. The fact that the Accademia was built solely to house the famous statue was no surprise as upon entering the museum and turning the corner around the Rape of the Sabines, the David stands on a pedestal at the end of a long corridor under a dome that allowed natural light to shine down on what is one of the greatest works of art known to man. We cannot explain to you the feelings and emotions that rushed through us when we first caught sight of the David. It is truly magnificent. We have no pictures of the David as photography was not allowed, but really that made that moment even more special to each of us as you can only experience the David by being in its presence.
We could not have chosen a better ending to our trip to Florence.
Ciao! - MoffTar
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