Florence

I'm not sure what to make of Florence. I didn't get in until the evening, and the first of the two hostels to which I went (the good one) was booked full. After getting lost trying to get there, the second, thankfully, had a free bed. I woke up dumbass early to make it over to the Galleria del Academia, which is really just Michelanglo's David. Getting there early was actually a godsend. I stared at it for almost and hour... just in awe, with only a small crowd around. The detail taken to sculpt it is just amazing; even the blood vessels running down his arms and backs of his hands are just fascinating in that they can so easily deceive the eye into forgetting that this was once a piece of stone and not a man. Just wow.

I went to the top of the Duomo after my camera broke. The view was much like every other high place to which I've ventured (I'm just making you feel better for not being able to see the pictures I would have taken). There wasn't really anything else in Florence I was dying to see except for the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which supposedly had a two to four hour wait. So I spent the rest of the day walking the streets of Florence. The city is quite beautiful, but overrun with tourists. I would have loved to have been able to take more pictures for everyone to see... but life (and my trip) goes on.

I woke the second day to get over to the Palazzo delgi Uffizi early and hopefully beat the crowd. I got there an hour before it opened to find there was already a decent sized line. I still ended up waiting a total of two hours to get into the place. It seems like the mean to keep the building relatively empty and force people to wait in line. The waiting sucked, but being able to freely walk about the building without the crowds of tour groups and old people was kind of nice. Although, I'm not sure the wait was really worth it. There was only one painting I recognized (I don't remember the name).

Once I got out of there, I picked up my pack, and it's onward to Venice...