5-21
Today was really full. The churches were supposed to be for tomorrow but they switched it to today so that we could have tomorrow afternoon to do whatever we wanted. I am suddenly just really tired a lot. I have been getting plenty of sleep so I am not sure why I am so tired but I just hope I am not getting sick. I’ve been going crazy on the fluids today in an attempt to counter whatever may be coming.
So anyway, today, first we went to the Galleria dell ‘Accademia which housed more sculptures and more paintings. This is where the Michelangelo’s statue of David is. That was interesting to see. His hands and feet look ridiculously large up close but apparently from a distance it all looks normal. There were also plaster models of sculptures and some of Michelangelo’s unfinished statues. You could still see the chisel marks and everything. Then we went to the Santa Maria Novella which is a big church. Dr. E actually did her doctorate studies there so she knew a lot about it. The outside reminded me of the Santa Maria del Fiore just because both of them were white, green and pink on the outside. This was when we took our lunch break. There aren’t as many fountain things here as in Rome. The fountains I am talking about are just places where people can stop and drink or rinse their hands or fill a water bottle, not the big decorative ones. So we hunted one of those down and got some food and then headed back for the rest of the afternoon.
After lunch was the Basilica di San Lorenzo. This church was really sweet on the outside because the façade had never been put in place. So it really was just this big brick building that looked amazing and humble at the same time. I liked that a lot. The inside was beautiful the walls were really simple and there were stained glass windows and then the ceiling had all of this decoration on it that was gold. This church was funded by the Medici family so their family crest was also all over it. This one had a cloister which was beautiful and I decided that my house will have a little courtyard thing with an orange tree in the center like this one did. After this church we went to another church; the Santa Croce. This one had the façade in place but it also housed monks or nuns so you could see plain walls behind it a bit where they lived and stuff. This is also the place where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried. This one didn’t have vaulted ceilings so that made for something new and interesting. I decided while inside the color scheme of my dream kitchen. It was inspired by the inside of this church.
Needless-to-say, I was churched out by the end of this. So we had one more museum left: the Galleria degli Uffizi. This is the one with the Birth of Venus and La Primavera. While we were waiting in line to get in I heard an accordion player playing what I think was Vivaldi’s Spring and then he started in on Canon in D. I was really impressed. It made me happy though to hear some classical music again. The Galleria took quite a while but it was a good time. I saw a picture of an angel holding a guitar which I recognized from somewhere; it’s called Musical Angel and I bought a postcard of it. My first souvenir of Italy for me!
I did see these shoes. Now I am not really a shopper but I just couldn’t forget these shoes that I saw and they weren’t ridiculously priced and I got them. I like them a lot though so hopefully other people will tell me they actually look good so that I know for sure. But when I was at the shoe shop there was this big guy. And I mean huge! He was so, so tall! I felt like a midget beside him and I usually just feel short so I am sure on this one. It was crazy. Then we had a group dinner which was delicious and we all had wine. I decided wine is definitely an acquired taste and I don’t have that one yet. It was funny. We sat on the terrace of the hotel which is just gorgeous and it was really a great idea on Dr. E’s part. We have a hike and a museum tomorrow but the afternoon is off so, fingers crossed, I’ll get some gifts out of the way at the market thing they have. I just have to figure out what gifts I am getting people. Sad day.
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