Multi Musei!

Ciao! My family came to visit this past week and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to not only show them all the things I love about Firenze, but also to discover new places with them. One day we went to Venice and I cannot begin to describe how different it is than Firenze. My favorite part of Venice was the roadways (or maybe I should say waterways). There are no cars in Venice, only water taxis and boats. All other roads are small alleyways just big enough for people to get through. It had a much different feel than any other place I have ever been. Even though it was amazing there I think a day trip was enough for me, there isn't as much to do there as in good old Firenze.

The next day the rain subsided just in time for me to take my family up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There we saw the most amazing view of the city, something that I desperately wanted to share with them. The climb was rough, but worth it. Well, at least we thought it was a rough climb until we decided to go to the top of the Duomo. My brother and I started to climb the stairs to the top and thought it wouldn't be too bad. Halfway up you walk around inside of the main dome and are right next to the beautiful artwork at the top (my brother even touched it!). The next section of stairs was a killer. The stairs became more narrow and winding. If you are afraid of heights or small spaced do not attempt this! The very last section was extremely steep and I thought I was going to fall backwards. The view when you are standing on top of cupola outside is absolutely breathtaking. I was able to spot my apartment from up there! The anxiety from the stairs had full dissipated from the beauty that I was seeing. The climb down was a hundred times easier than the climb up.

Next on our agenda was a trip to Chianti. There we tasted the best food and wine the world has to offer. Not only did we indulge in those tasty treats, we went to the medieval town of San Gimignano. This is called the medieval Manhattan. There we saw the original twin towers, of which came the idea for the World Trade Center. Dinner that night was good but tasted like nothing in comparison to the food we had in Chianti.

The following day we went to the Galileo museum. Being a science major, this was the number one museum I wanted to go to. It was really interesting seeing old microscopes and some of Galileos first telescopes! My favorite part had to be the display of Galileos fingers and tooth though! How often do you get to see something like that???

The last museum we all went to was the Accademia. Almost everyday I walk past the replica of Michelangelo's David next to Palazzo Vecchio. I never imagined that seeing the real one would be so awe-inspiring. My jaw literally dropped. It is hard to explain the beauty of something like that without being able to show it someone. If you ever go to one museum in the whole world in your entire life, this should be it.

Being able to show my family around was one of my favorite things I have had the opportunity to do while here. Not only because they made sure I ate well everyday. I'm so happy they were able to see what an amazing trip this is first hand, and not just from pictures and stories. I can't wait to continue exploring this city and bring home more stories for them to hear.