Florence

I had a week off before orientation started, so I decided to travel through Italy because that's the one place I've always wanted to see. Unfortunately the only train I could get was the 6AM ride, which meant that I had to wake up at 3:30 to get from my apartment in the 19th district to the train station. Not the best way to start the day! I got into Florence and checked into the Archi Rossi Hostel, which was a very nice (and affordable) place. (Recommended by NCSU Vienna alumni--thanks!)

I met plenty of English speakers at the hostel, and I went around town with Dave from the UK and George from San Francisco, who were both backpacking around Europe. It was a nice change of pace to finally be able to speak English. We checked out the touristy spots by the Dome and the Piazza della Signoria, as well as some of the local bars too. There are museums, statues, and other famous spots everywhere you look. Plenty of tourists too. One of the biggest hassles is trying to avoid getting in other people's pictures.

The next day, we checked out the major attractions in the city. First up was the Uffizi museum, which has the best collection of Italian art in the world. This is a place where you could spend the better part of a day. Hundreds of ancient statues, and a few very famous paintings. Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, and da Vinci's Annunciation were all here. We'd heard there could be a 4-5 hour wait, but it was only about 20 minutes to get in. Definitely well worth it!

Next up was the Accademia gallery, which is where Michelangelo's David is located. A very long line to get in, but you don't really have a choice--you basically have to see this if you're in Florence. The statue's a lot bigger than you would think, but it's amazing to see it in person. I managed to snap some illegal pictures while I was there. (There are basically 5 or 6 people whose only job is to make sure you don't take pictures. They do everything short of throwing your camera on the ground and stomping on it.)

After looking around the Cathedral and the Ponte Vecchio, my last touristy stop in Florence was to go inside the Dome. There is a long history with the building and the innovations that went into designing the dome, but you can read all about that somewhere else. Another very, very long line. As you get closer, people also start to drop out when they find out that there's no elevator to the top. 463 steps to the top...

but then you get to see Florence and Tuscany from the top...

After all of the tourism, we went out for a little while in Florence, and then I was off to the coast. I'll try and add the Cinque Terre/Portovenere section in here tomorrow. More pictures from Florence at the link on the top right (by my info).