Florence, Day 2

     We began day eight of our trip by visiting the famous Uffizi Gallery. Professor Cher handed us a scavenger hunt sheet of several impressive artworks to find throughout the gallery including The Birth of Venus by Botticelli and three self-portraits of Rembrandt and others. We were impressed by the magnificent sculptures and paintings.

      After discovering the Uffizi, we separated into groups to go shopping and find lunch (gelato for all of us, of course).  Many of us went back to the leather market which we had enjoyed so much the day before.  Here we were able to bargain for better prices on wallets, bags, and anything else we noticed that interested us.
     At this point we met up once more to enjoy the Pitti Palace and the Bobolli Gardens.  Inside the palace we walked around and saw the different museums of the palace including the costume museum and the porcelain museum.  Then we walked into the gardens and enjoyed the beautiful greenery and exceptional statues. We were disappointed to find we couldn't see the Artichoke fountain, a highlight of the gardens, due to the filming of Inferno starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. However, most of us did get to view trucks and filming equipment for the movie as well as workers, which was very exciting.
     After we trekked around the Pitti Palace, we made our way to the church Santa Croce which holds the remains of many Italian Renaissance artists and historical figures including Michelangelo and Galileo. It also has several memorials including one to Dante. This church has a detailed and beautiful facade and is a must-see when one visits Florence. 
     We attended mass at the most prominent building of the magnificent city, the duomo. Though the mass was strictly in Italian, we enjoyed the acoustics of the church from the large pipe organ and the priests' booming voices. The duomo and its bell tower consists of striped marble of green, pink, and white. They contain many reliefs as well.
     Florence was for most of us the perfect town - kinda busy like Rome, but more laid back like Assisi and San Gimingano.

Written by Katrina & Lily S