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Yesterday we explored the town of Florence once
again and had quite the Medici filled day. We first headed to
the Medici Tomb and Chapel where lots of famous people (i.e. Donatello)
are buried. Once again we are finding that a lot of the sights
are under renovation so our
views are being blocked by some pretty ugly scaffolding. It is
also a shame because for example, in the tomb some of the
paintings and statues have been removed. But nonetheless the
sights are seeing are incredible and unforgettable.
After lunch we headed over the canal to the
Medici Palace. We first explored the Palace apartments which
were filled to the brim with absolutely gorgeous artwork that
was owned by the Medici Family. The second part of the
apartments were set up as when the Medici's
lived there. We saw the throne room and the royal bathroom among
several others. We then left the apartments and headed to the
modern art museum. To our great pleasure this
museum was filled with artwork from the early 20th century and
the 19th century. There was nothing 'modern' about this artwork.
We strolled back over the canal and through the
town to our hotel before heading to dinner. After dinner we went
to a local Irish bar to watch the Italy vs.
Germany Soccer game. It was a pretty intense game even for me
who is not at a soccer fan at all. But the way the crowd reacted
when Italy finally scored and won was very cool. The streets
became one big party as all of the patrons from the pubs and
bars spilled out into the streets.
This morning we got up early and headed to Siena,
Italy for a day trip. This little enchanting town was built upon
a hill and is filled with narrow alleys. It was not as touristy
or busy as Florence has been so far. We first walked up to
the Cathedral of the town. It was interesting because like all
of the architecture in town, certain adjustments has to be made
because of the hilly terrain. For example, the crypt and the
baptistry we located well below the church
(there was a giant hill and stairs you had to walk up to get
from one to the other) but they were all part of the same
building. The inside of the baptistry and the cathedral were
breathtaking. The outside was in colorful marble similar
to the cathedral here in Florence. But unlike here, the inside
of the cathedral in Siena was chock full of amazing artwork and sculpture.
They even had biblical scenes
etched in the marble on the floor around the church.
My favorite part of the entire cathedral was definitely the
pulpit. It was an enormous marble structure with a staircase
leading to a walkway which led to the pulpit. IT WAS HUGE!! and
the artwork carved into the sides of the pulpit was so intricate
and detailed. Truly amazing!
We ate lunch in the main Piazza
(or square) of the town where the town hall is located. The rest
of the day we spent wandering around and just taking it easy. It
is a rather small town so there is not much to do besides
explore the narrow alley ways.
We took the train back to Florence and arrived
back here a bit before 8pm. We are moving to Verona tomorrow. I
need everyone to keep their fingers crossed and say a little
prayer that the weather holds out. The forecast
is calling for rain both Thursday and Friday. This would be
particularly bad timing because Friday is the day we see the
opera in the Coliseum in
Verona.
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Elizabeth 
