Florence was pretty great

Florence was a very different experience than Venice in my opinion. I believe because Florence has so many unbelievable locations to experience we spent a lot of time in museums and seeing tourist-ridden sights. We spent less time enjoying ourselves at dinner and at wine tastings and exploring the city because we were staying off site and trying to fit in our sightseeing in a short period of time. Day one, we oversaw the whole city from an outlook above. The beauty and awe of the cities red shingled roof tops was overwhelming. Brandon, several other students, and I walked from the outlook down into the city to acquire our Firenze cards. The walk down was more of a run and was very beautiful. I wish we could have taken a slower pace so I could have gotten more photos. After getting down we went to the piazza to meet the rest of the group, but were far ahead and went and got lunch. I really enjoy walking far away from the group and trying to find the local areas to eat, they often taste better and cost less! In Florence I found an amazing brick oven pizza place for 5 euros for a whole amazing pizza, it was delicious. After grabbing pizza I went back to join the group in the piazza. After the whole group arrived we went and toured the gardens and the palace. The gardens were gorgeous and offered a view of the entire city while smelling roses. It was quite the experience. After finishing seeing the gorgeous art and the inside of the palace, Brandon, Trevor, and I went and ventured to the open air leather market. In the market I purchased a messenger bag and Trevor purchased a beautiful leather jacket. It was entertaining to barter with all the shop keepers and I’m happy with my leather bag. Day two in Florence was all about seeing the Duomo. The inside was pretty magnificent, but viewing dead peoples tombs, even when I know their history never interests me too much. The view after we reached the top of the Duomo however was unbelievably impressive. Grand views have always impressed me more than statues or landmarks, I think that’s why I’m so outdoorsy. We finished off by going to a group dinner that was delicious and complete with more wine.