21st Birthday Weekend!

Turning 21 in Europe is no less fun than turning 21 in America. Even though you can 'already drink' the plus side is that ALL your friends are also legal to drink, regardless if they are 19 or 20. So Thursday night we headed to the bars and counted down to midnight. It was definitely a Birthday I will never forget.

The program that I am studying abroad with has two weekends planned for everyone. The transportation, hotel, and events are all included with the program cost. So Friday morning, the 18th, Maddie dragged me out of bed at 7am and made sure I didn't miss the bus to Florence. The bus ride took about four hours which was perfect for me because I just slept and drank water all morning.
Once we arrived in Florence we got settled into our rooms and then headed out to meet our tour guide. The tour guide for my group was Francesca and she was such a riot! She walked us all around the heart of Florence telling us all about its history and showing us the Cathedral, Duomo, and ending up at the Galleria dell'Accademia. The Galleria dell'Accademia's collection includes works by Botticelli, Perugino, and Ghirlandaio, but it is most famous for housing Michelangelo's  David. Francesca told us that Michelangelo was commissioned to make David as one of a series of statues to be placed on the roofline of the Florence Cathedral,  but because David is 17ft tall and weighs more then 6-tons the citizens figured not only could they not lift David to the roof, the roof probably wouldn't even be able to hold it without collapsing! So instead they placed him in the public square and then in 1873 moved him to the Galleria and have a replica in the square today.
It took Michelangelo three years to complete David (1501-1504) and was made out of one single piece of marble. The eyes of David are looking towards Rome with a 'warning glare' (Florence and Rome hate each other). Michelangelo also did not have a model to go off of, but like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo studied anatomy and carved everything completely by memory. It was definitely more impressive than any expectation I had.

Michelangelo's David; pictures are not allowed in the Galleria so I had to sneakily take one, Francesca told us that this is the better side of David :)

After spending hours in the Galleria we went out for my Birthday dinner, I ordered steak and potatoes, my absolute favorite meal! Even though i'm in Italy I still have my German need of meat and taters.

The next morning we had another tour with Francesca. She took us to the Ponte Vecchio bridge which is the only surviving bridge from WWII. She told us that when Hitler invaded Florence he walked across the bridge and loved the view so much that he told the German army to go ahead and bomb every bridge except this one. It use to be the site for the fish market but today it holds very expensive jewelry stores. There are also thousands of locks on the gates on the bridge, there is a tale that if you and your lover write your name on a lock and throw the key into the river then your love will last forever in Florence. Francesca told us, "yeah but then you go back to America and there you can get the divorce".

sooo many 'locks of love'

Francesca then took us to the Uffizi Gallery. It is one of the most famous art museums in the world and holds works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli (he painted the Primavera and the Birth of Venus), and many many others.

view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge from inside the Uffizi Gallery

After spending way to many hours looking at art we were free to explore to city on our own. Maddie and I took some great advice from our tour guide and headed to the Duomo. We then climbed the 464 stairs to the very top of the Dome for an absolute breathtaking view of the entire city.

-I tried to post a video that I took from the top but it wouldn't upload so i'll try to upload it to facebook-

After the Duomo we went to the leather market (Florence is famous for its leather) where I (unsuccessfully) tried to bargain for a leather jacket. I did end up buying one that I love but maybe if Brother Dan was with me I could have gotten it cheaper.
We then enjoyed our last night in Florence with an amazing meal, dancing in the Piazza, and just enjoying the beautiful sights of the town. If anyone goes to Italy I would say a stop in Florence is a MUST.

our tour guide Francesca, telling us all about her city

from left to right: Baptistry, Santa Maria Cathedral, Duomo, and Bell Tower. The very top of the Duomo is where we climbed to. 

Santa Maria Cathedral. picture does not do it justice, most beautiful church ever!

halfway up our hike to the top of the Dome I took a quick pic of the view looking down, and yes those tiny spots are people. Mom and Aunt Jean would not have liked this climb :)

Inside painting of the Dome. BEAUTIFUL!

The wild boar is the symbol of Florence, if you rub his nose you will get good luck.

Sunday morning we were woken up early again and all piled back onto the bus. We drove three hours to spend the day in Siena, where we had another tour guide to show us around the town. Siena is a much smaller city than Rome or Florence and has the true Italy feel to it. It is most famous for hosting the Palio, a horse race held twice a year, one in July and one in August. It is the most dangerous horse race in the world, think Kentucky Derby x100.

Piazza del Campo: the horses race three times around the tear shaped circle.

Beautiful Siena!

All in all I would say it was a very perfect birthday weekend.