Despite the blaring of music until four in the morning, I got a pretty decent sleep. Around 8:15 or so, I trekked across the campgrounds in my PJs to take a shower. The bathroom was filled with girls showering and attempting to primp in front of sinks and tiny mirrors. The showers were interesting to say the least. There was a wall of six or seven showers, with short doors. When you closed the three foot door, your head and shoulders peered over the top and your knees and legs below. I threw my towel over top of the door to shield everyone from me awkwardly staring at them while I showered. Showered and ready, we left the campgrounds on Bus 13 down the mountain. Our first stop this morning was the Leonardo da Vinci interactive museum. Apparently there are two, so we just picked one. This museum was filled with replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's early work that pioneered the way for future automobiles and weapons. As we walked through the museum, we were invited to turn knobs, wheels, and all sorts of things that made the pieces of art move. You're never too old for interactive museums. Never. Unfortunately, the museum was smaller than we had anticipated and when we were finished we still had over two hours to kill before our 1:30 p.m. appointment at the Academia. After grabbing a bite to eat we strolled the streets, poking our heads in souvenir shops along the way.
1:15 p.m. We made our way to the entrance of the Academia museum. With our reservations, we avoided the line and were let in right at our appointment time. The Academia houses Michelangelo's famous David. We started out in another room looking at oil on canvas paintings and other sculptures, but the anticipation was killing us. We walked into the next room and as we turned the corner, we saw it. At the end of the hallway stood David. It was by far the most magnificent sculpture I have ever seen in my life. He was
huge in person. I've always heard how large the statue is, but seeing it in person was nothing like I had expected. We spent a solid twenty minutes around the David, just marveling at him. Although pictures were strictly forbidden, I managed to sneak in a few...after being scolded by the security lady. Oh well. We strolled around the museum and while it was all very impressive, nothing compared to the statue of David. One room had a floor covered in shards of mirrors which was fun to play around in, but even then I found myself wandering back to the room with David. We eventually said our goodbyes and made our way out of the museum and back onto the streets of Florence.
As we made our way back up the mountain, we ended up riding the wrong bus up and down the mountain twice. We were on the bus for 94 minutes before we finally got off at our stop. By this point, we were all rather frustrated and decided to postpone the Cathedral we had planned for today to another day. We had dinner at a food truck on the top of the mountain by Piazzale Michelangelo. I ordered a Motard sandwich which probably sounds unappetizing, but it was amazing. A toasted panini was layered with fresh beef, sausage, pork, bacon, and this secret sauce concoction. I couldn't finish the whole sandwich, unfortunately. For 4 euros, that was definitely in my top five meals of this entire trip. As the sun set, we crossed the street to Piazzale Michelangelo where a copper replica of David stood. The Piazza overlooked the entire city of Florence, quite the sight to see at night. Shelley took some great pictures of the city with heat lightening lighting up the night sky. We once again had the privilege of falling asleep to club music. I guess this counts as the substitute for my sleep machine?
Despite the blaring of music until four in the morning, I got a pretty decent sleep. Around 8:15 or so, I trekked across the campgrounds in my PJs to take a shower. The bathroom was filled with girls showering and attempting to primp in front of sinks and tiny mirrors. The showers were interesting to say the least. There was a wall of six or seven showers, with short doors. When you closed the three foot door, your head and shoulders peered over the top and your knees and legs below. I threw my towel over top of the door to shield everyone from me awkwardly staring at them while I showered. Showered and ready, we left the campgrounds on Bus 13 down the mountain. Our first stop this morning was the Leonardo da Vinci interactive museum. Apparently there are two, so we just picked one. This museum was filled with replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's early work that pioneered the way for future automobiles and weapons. As we walked through the museum, we were invited to turn knobs, wheels, and all sorts of things that made the pieces of art move. You're never too old for interactive museums. Never. Unfortunately, the museum was smaller than we had anticipated and when we were finished we still had over two hours to kill before our 1:30 p.m. appointment at the Academia. After grabbing a bite to eat we strolled the streets, poking our heads in souvenir shops along the way.
As we made our way back up the mountain, we ended up riding the wrong bus up and down the mountain twice. We were on the bus for 94 minutes before we finally got off at our stop. By this point, we were all rather frustrated and decided to postpone the Cathedral we had planned for today to another day. We had dinner at a food truck on the top of the mountain by Piazzale Michelangelo. I ordered a Motard sandwich which probably sounds unappetizing, but it was amazing. A toasted panini was layered with fresh beef, sausage, pork, bacon, and this secret sauce concoction. I couldn't finish the whole sandwich, unfortunately. For 4 euros, that was definitely in my top five meals of this entire trip. As the sun set, we crossed the street to Piazzale Michelangelo where a copper replica of David stood. The Piazza overlooked the entire city of Florence, quite the sight to see at night. Shelley took some great pictures of the city with heat lightening lighting up the night sky. We once again had the privilege of falling asleep to club music. I guess this counts as the substitute for my sleep machine?
No comments:
Post a Comment