Florence has been rainy the last few days. The sun will be out, beating down on us, then abruptly, we’re caught in a torrential downpour. Weather patterns are definitely different here. One such rainstorm hit as we waited in line at the Academia to see the famous statue of David. Once we got in though, things got a little better. The statue was absolutely enormous. Despite his seventeen foot height, David had exquisite detail. His neck muscles bulged, as did his veins. After an hour and a half of admiring him and the rest of the museum, we walked out… and found ourselves in shining sunlight. European weather is weird.
The following day we visited another notable museum: the Uffizi! We saw works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, and other great artists. Through statues and paintings, history unfolded before us. Though it looks a little small from the outside, its many floors were massive. We barely made it through in the few hours that we had! After the museum, we went out to get gelato/crepes and stumbled upon some of the greatest food ever made. Nutella-covered waffles. They are delicious and arguably better than crepes, surprisingly. All in all, it was a fun day out in Florence.
On our last full day, we took a 16 hour day trip to the Cinque Terre and Pisa. We started with a 2-hour train ride to a 3.7-mile hike out to a little fishing town in the Cinque Terre. The trek was made harder by the blisteringly hot sun, and our arrival in the village was very welcome. Lunch was had at small restaurants around town, and we went to the beach afterward. A couple hours at the beach saw us tired, but ready for Pisa! We hopped back on the train and arrived at the home of the leaning tower in less than an hour! We walked 20 blocks to the tower and took (touristy) pictures all around. Dinner was a hurried afterthought (we had a train to catch!). By 10:30, we finally rolled back into Florence. Everyone was falling asleep as we stumbled back to the apartment, but we had had an awesome last day. It was a nice way to say goodbye to Italy. Next up, Paris! Here we come, France.
