Florence and Siena, Italy

I started my day early and met my friend Jessica for breakfast a little after 7am. Breakfast was really good. It was provided by our hotel and topped any continental breakfast I have ever had. We even had desert with breakfast, gosh I love Italy. Jessica and I tried to take at bus but ended up on the wrong one, so we just walked to Piazzale Michelangelo. It is a viewing point with a big replica of the David. It was quite the climb up there but the view was worth it. Our next stop was at San Miniato Church. Legend has it that when St. Minias was beheaded on the banks of the Arno in 250 A.D., he picked up his head and walked to what became the first Christian cemetery. Kind of weird, but the church was beautiful with a facade covered in green and white marble and an interior filled with frescoes and a golden mosaic. We wandered back down to the river, stopping in another church on the way. Any church I have stopped in has had incredible art in it. After crossing the river, we went to Santa Croce Church, which was massive. It houses the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, and many other famous Florentines. I especially loved the frescoes dating from the 1300s painted by Giotto. The church also has a small museum that we strolled through.

Sam got out of class at noon so I met him back at the hotel. We got sandwiches and desserts from a café and walked around taking in the city. We took a bus to Siena, which took about an hour and 10 minutes. Siena is such a beautiful city. There is nothing like it. The old town is a jumble of paved pedestrian only street lined with shops. I loved it there. We visted II Campo, the best square in Italy. Then we climbed the city tower. It was a 330 foot climb that felt never ending, but the view was well worth it. We toured the Civic Museum, which was filled with art. Then we went to the Duomo, an art packed cathedral with mosaic floors and statues by Michelangelo and Bernini. It also had a museum that displayed what used to be it’s cathedral’s art. We ran into some Missionaries that were happy to speak English for a few minutes. On our way out of the city we stopped to buy some panforte, which is the local delicacy. It was kind of like fruit cake, but a whole lot better.

We got back to Florence a little after 8 and went out for dinner. We went to this little place where the service was incredibly slow but the food was well worth the wait. I had gnocci with a four cheese cream sauce. It was wonderful. I have never had a cream sauce that good. We didn’t get out of the restaurant until 10pm but we had to have gelatos. Today I had mint chocolate chip and nutella.

I will post more pictures when I get back but I wanted the kids to be able to see some.