I Know, I Know, I'm a horrible blogger....

Okay, so I admit, it's been over a month since my last blog post. I have a reason really! Well sort of. The last big thing I did was Venice and Florence and then classes started and I had work and lots of reading and now I have midterms and 4 4-page papers due etc. So I really do have an excuse for not writing. But now that midterms are here and I need an excuse to not study, I am back. Just kidding, sort of.

Okay, well I will start where I left off because there is some pretty cool stuff.

So that would mean I'm starting with Florence! What a beautiful city. I came back from Venice, spent three days in Rome, two of which were rainy and miserable and then took the train to Florence to visit my KKG travel buddy and little sis, Jasmine. She was an awesome tour guide!!! I arrived at night on Thursday, February 7th so we didn't get to do much on Thursday. On Friday, we went to see Basilica Di Santa Maria Del Fiore, also known as the Duomo. We then preseeded to climb to the cupola of the dome, Cupola del Brunelleschi. 463 steps!!! And some were verticle. At one point I was walking up and onto the inner dome to reach the outer dome. It was quite an experience. Despite the chilly weather, I was sweating by the time I reached the top, but the view was amazing!!!

This was the ceiling of the dome. Such ornate
paintings or angels and demons and
everything in between.

This was the view of Florence from the top of the
Cupola! You could see everything in every
direction! It was truly remarkable!

And then there is me... Proof that I actually made it
all the way to the top. I know that I would require proof
of such an accomplishment. 

 So after the Duomo and the cupola, we went over the the Galleria dell'Academia to see THE DAVID!!!!!!! What an incredible master piece. It's no wonder people travel from all over the world to see it. You technically aren't allowed to take picture of the David, but I wasn't going to leave without one so I snuck a couple with my phone. Not as good as with my camera, but my humongous camera is a little too obvious.

What a beautiful man... Am I right?

Okay, so after THE DAVID, sorry I just can't help myself, that's how great it is!!! Anyway, after seeing the David, we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo where the 2nd of 3 David's in located. Before we went into the piazza, we decided to walk around one of the cemeteries that is up on the hill. I'm pretty sure we were there for at least an hour. It's amazing that some of the tomb stones date back to the 1600s and the most recent I saw was 2010. It's just insane! And some of the sculptures were just beautiful.

This is the Ponte Vecchio, which literally means the old bridge.
It is one of the major tourist sites in Florence! 

I thought this sculpture was beautiful. It
is extraordinary how natural decompisition
can change the look of something so
drastically but make it look even more beautiful. 

This sculpture just touched my heart. It is a
little girl trying to reach out to her departed mother.
It just made me think of my mom and how much I
love and miss her.

And then there was this treasure! I saw this from the other side of the cemetery and I just had to find out what it was. This was a sculpture to a couple who died only a few years apart. I have vowed to find out what happened to this couple. They both died in the 40s, so most likely a result of the war. This just made me think of my love and how I wouldn't want to live without him. 

This is the oh so wonderful Jasmine! Isn't she
gorgeous! You can take a beautiful picture
from pretty much every hill in Florence!

This was taken from Piazzale Michelangelo. The
sunset was just beautiful in contrast with the
city below!

Like I said, the second David of 3. On it's own,
 it is quite impressive, but comparatively speaking,
it is nothing!

And the Ponte Vecchio at night. Isn't it wonderful! The sunset just above the buildings and the reflection of the lights on the water. Nothing quite like simple peace.

Okay, so that was the first day in Florence. The second day consisted of a visit to the Boboli Gardens and seeing the 3rd David outside the Uffizi Gallery. I think the only way to describe these things is through my pictures, otherwise, this blog post will be so long you will need an entire day just to read it...

So this one is just sort of funny... I know everyone knows the story of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. If you toss a coin in, you are destined to come back to Rome. Well this is Florence's version of the Trevi Fountain. If you touch the boars nose, you will come back to Florence. So I touched the boars nose.

This was one of the fountain/lakes in the Boboli Gardens. It was quite a hike to get to, but completely worth it.

If you know me well, you know that I am adventurous, so naturally, when I saw this, I wanted to go running down it and just imagined all the adventures that awaited me at the end of the tunnel... and then I remembered that I wasn't 6 anymore, so I just walked to the end. Doesn't it kind of feel like Narnia though!!!!

This is the 3rd and final David that is displayed in front of the Uffizi Gallery. It has more of a resemblance to the original than the one on Piazzale Michelangelo, but it is still nothing in comparison. 

And here is a picture of the Duomo. It is just beautiful. No matter if it is day or night, rain or shine, it is always beautiful. 

Okay, so the last day, Jasmine and I went to a Chocolate Festival in a little town right outside of Florence called Fiescole. I had some awesome chocolate. Dark chocolate covered dried pineapple... Just think about that for a minute and your mouth will start watering... Mine is.

After the Chocolate Festival, we went back to Jasmine's apartment and cooked an authentic Italian dinner with tortelini, tomatoes, artichokes, and wine of course!

I have a wonderful little sis! Couldn't ask for anything better! Thanks for being a wonderful host and even better tour guide! 

I'm almost done, I promise!!! So like I said, after I got back from Florence, life as a student started... I haven't been anywhere since then but I have seen some pretty cool sites for my Ancient Roman Civilization class. I visited the ruins of the Porta Maggiore, The Tomb of Eurysaces, The Arch of Argentarii, The Mausoleum of Augustus, and The Mausoleum of Hadrian. If any of you are interested in learning about these ancient ruins, let me know and I will send you my papers. They are actually quite fascinating to learn about.

These are the ancient ruins of the Porta Maggiore and The Tomb of Eurysaces. 

This is the ancient Arch of Argentarii. 

So that is it! I told you, after Florence, less than entertaining! Well readers anyway, not for me. But I do have good news! I'M GOING TO LONDON AND IRELAND NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
I promise that I will devote time, right after I get home, to writing a blog and posting all the pictures! Look forward to pictures! I know for sure that I am going to see Stonehenge in England and I am going to travel to Cork in southern Ireland where my grandmother was born and raised. We'll see if I can find some long lost family! Wish me luck!