7/07/09 -- More of Florence

Today was a really great day. We met up with our tour guide again and she took us to the Uffitzi and the Accadamia. On our way to the Uffitzi I somehow managed to lose my ticked, but luckily they had an extra. It was a close call. The Uffitzi was really really cool. We saw some very famous paintings, and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about all of them. Sometimes I felt like I learned more then I really wanted to, but I guess that's okay.
After the Uffitzi we went to the Accademia. This is the museum that houses Michel Anglelo's David. We walked into the museum and the first thing we went to was the David. It was the most incredible sculpture I have ever seen . Words honestly can not describe how unbelievable it is. I don't understand how one man could have done such great work. It blew my mind. We walked around the rest of the museum and saw some other impressive things, but nothing compared to the David so a few of us went back and sketched him. I gained such a greater appreciation for all the work that had gone into this sculpture by sketching it.
Inside the Accademia there is a museum of musical instruments. This was the neatest thing. It had harpsichords dating back to the early 1400's. There was also the most beautiful Viola. It was one of ten that Stratoverry had ever made. It was gorgeous.
After the museums we headed to the Duomo. It is really pretty on the outside and has a lot of ornamentation, but the inside is a little dissappointing. Not half as pretty as the outside. All the same, the Dome was HUGE. So that was very cool to see. We didn't have time to hike the Dome as a group that day. So we had to do another day by ourselves. After going inside the Duomo we went to the Baptistry. It is seperate from the Duomo and has huge golden doors. It was beautiful inside.
The rest of the day we went off and sketched as a group. This was good because we got some assignments done and learned some new sketching techniques. Some of the kids in my group are really talented. After sketching we headed up this huge hill to overlook all of Florence. By the time we got to the top half of us were passed out on the side of the road because we had to climb so many stairs. But the view was worth it. At the top of this hill there was also a Cathedral the was holding a Greghorian chant. We sat inside and listened for awhile. It was very interesting, but very cool.
Julia and I headed back to the hotel. We got the usual 2,00 E pizza and some Grom. It was a very eventful day.