Now I'm behind big time, so it's come time to share info through bulletpoints. The photos are the best part anyway, right? So here's a recap of fun things we did and saw in Florence and Rome, and some more photos of all the AMAZING THINGS! Italia was fantastico.
Firenze:
--The ponte vecchio is a street lined with jewelry shops that stretches right over the river Arno, buildings and all! We walked by the ponte vecchio almost every day on our way to and from the sights of Florence.
--Climbed to the top of the Duomo to look out over the whole city. Florence is gorgeous -- piazzas filled with statues, red domes of churches and the blue dome of the synagogue, terra cotta roofs, and mountains in the distance. After a lot of rainy winter weather we finally got some sun, so we could see for miles from the Duomo's cupola.
--Michelangelo's final, unfinished statue, the Pieta where he depicts himself as Nicodemus -- this is in the museo dell'opera di Duomo, where we also saw works by Donatello and Bernini.
-- Tuesday was free museum evening, and we went to the Academia to see Michelangelo's David before heading to the Uffizi. IL DAVID! There are no words. It was also really cool to see Michelangelo's other statues there, as well as many interesting works by Botticelli (including the Venus de Milo), Donatello, Bernini, Caravaggio, etc... but il David. He looks like he´s about to walk off the podium.
--Had two dinners in one night -- first at Acqua al 2 for the best steak of Alex's life, and then to a neighborhood spot called il Santo Bevitore right near our guest house for deliciouso local wine, freshly-made pasta with spicy sauce, dessert and sweet wine after dinner.....mmmmmm. Va bene!
Roma:
--SO MANY THINGS! I don't even know where to begin! First, just a list of the best of the best. We really toured it up in Roma, and got the most out of our four day stay. And of course, celebrated the New Year! What a blast.
-- The Roman Forum: imagining Ceasar Augustus walking around where you're standing is, well, pretty cool I guess...
-- The Coliseum: we got lucky and snuck in on the last tour of the year 2010, fo FREE, and because it was so busy that day the tour guide took us onto the rebuilt floor of the Coliseum, which tourists don't ever get to do.
-- Basilica di San Pietro: climbed the cupola and looked out over the city, again, brilliantly beautiful in the sunshine. One of the days we were in Rome it was 14 degrees Celcuis!
-- Museo di Vaticano: Unfortunately I didn't get to spend as much time here as I planned, due to long lines and early closing times for the holidays. After running by all the amaying things on display, though, I got to spend 40 minutes staring up in awe at the Sistine Chapel. Not bad.... not bad at all.
-- Ate, literally, one ton of gelato between the three of us. Must've tried at least 30 different flavors during our time in Italia.
-- Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill, and the Circo Maximo, and went to the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michelangelo's Moses
-- walked the neighborhoods of Trastavere, Campo de Fiori, the Spanish steps, and went to a carnival in Piazza Navona that reminded me of county fairs in MN so much
-- wandered the Sunday Roman flea market, the largest in Italy
-- rented a bicycle rickshaw and tooled around the Borghese gardens
-- Trevi Fountain: Threw in a coin to speed our return to Roma!
THE BEST. Photos, and stories of Munchen, to come soon.
