Florence – Italy

Florence has long since been on my list of places to visit around the world. Having taken 5 different art history classes in college, it had also come up quite often (being the art capital that it is). So frequently I had dreamt about what it looked like, what the people were like, and what seeing all this incredible art in person was like. I must have seen images of David hundreds of times. Our art history professors were always reminding us of their first experiences with art in person and how different it was, because it was just that. An experience. David is not just a sculpture, he is not just stone; he is an experience. Just like Florence.

He is also massive. He towers over you and forces you to walk around him. Once you walk around, you can’t help but be in awe of not only his size, but the great amount of detail contained in every square inch of his surface area. It truly is incredible.

We sat in front of him for at least 30 minutes before moving on to the rest of the museum, but nothing else topped it. He is just that amazing.

And so goes the story of Florence, rich in art and culture and talent. It’s on every street corner and in every piazza. You can’t walk a block without admiring one thing or another. Everything is art – living art.

We spent the majority of our time in Florence doing mostly what I just described; in museums admiring art I’ve only seen through a screen or in a book, or outside wandering the streets.

When dinnertime came, we opted to dine in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of none other than the David replica. Within minutes our table filled up with bottles of wine, some beer, and (of course) pizza and pasta. My boyfriend’s mother even ordered a liter (yes, you read that correctly) of hot chocolate, because she ordered a cup and it just wasn’t enough. It was just that good. This was at Ristorante Il Bargello.

We stayed there what seemed like hours, enjoying our last night in Florence and our last night being all together. The whole trip had been so unexpected and impulsive, but also very memorable. We were thrust out of our comfort zone, but were also fairly rewarded.

After dinner we weren’t quite ready for the night to end, so we grabbed some wine and beer to go and headed to the Ponte Santa Trinita, the bridge to the West of the Ponte Vecchio. We huddled together at the center of the bridge (pictured above) and cheered to our last night in Florence. I can’t recall what wine we had, but sitting there on that bridge with a plastic cup in my hand, staring out at the Ponte Vecchio, it could have been any kind and I think it would’ve tasted just as good.

I couldn’t be more excited about going back some day. Thank you Florence!

Hope you enjoyed 🙂