Firenze!

We woke up the next morning pretty early; the plan was to be ready to go by 9 am. And we were! Except for Linnea, of course. By the time we were all ready, she hadn't even gotten in the shower yet. But we finally got out and headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. The statue is, as expected, beautiful. A surprise highlight, though, was the Museum of Music, a small gallery attached to the Gallery, where a variety of instruments and the world's oldest upright piano! Pretty awesome. We took our time in the Gallery, as some of the girls weren't feeling well and there was a lot to see, but we headed out and towards the Cathedral de Santa Maria and the Florence Duomo. The Cathedral is massive and incredibly ornate  (not to mention a few stops from the hostel!):


                           

While walking around the square, we looked around and noticed Linnea was missing. Surprise, surprise. Our phones didn't work in Italy and the square was packed so we didn't see the point in searching for her; we could look for hours and never find her. As a result, we decided that, since she is a 23 year old woman, she would be fine and either eventually find us or meet us later. And, so, we headed up! 463 stairs up narrow hallways and curving stairwells and we finally reached the top! The views were beautiful and completely worth the claustrophobia of the climb:

When we exited the Cathedral, we saw Linnea sitting at the bottom waiting. After some unnecessary yelling and tears which we mostly ignored (does the girl ever stop crying?), we moved on.

After the Duomo, we headed over to the Piazza del Michelangelo, a large plateau that overlooks the city. The walk was equally strenuous and it was outdoors so the sun made it even more difficult. However, eventually we made it! I actually liked this view better; you can see the river (ignore the unpleasant color) and the Cathedral. 

After a long day of walking, we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. The most exciting moment? Laurel got wedding shoes! (by the way, Laurel is my friend on the trip who is engaged!) They're "dusty rose" with a slight heel. Very cute, very Laurel. We also explored the open-air markets and practiced our bargaining skills. We finished the night with another delicious Italian meal, though this time I got the most incredible gnocci for dinner. We headed back early for bed because we had to be up at 4:30 am to catch our train to Roma!