Day 21 - Florence, Italy

Wedn, July 3

Rest day! Speaking of, don't feel like I've gotten a good night's sleep in awhile. No AC means we go to sleep and wake up feeling sticky every night. But we gave the legs a break today! Took the metro into Florence after a great breakfast from the hotel. First time eggs have been offered! We started with a Rick Steves tour. Love those things! Super convenient and a great way to explore! We started at the Duomo, which was huge and extravagant. The statues and bronze doors on the baptistry were impressive. We eventually made our way to the Piazza della Signoria. It was filled with statues that were just incredible. The replica of Michelangelo's David was there, as well as someone beheading Medusa, others depicting the pillaging and raping of women, Hercules killing a centaur, and a fountain with Neptune. There was such intricate detail on these, like veins showing from arms and hands, and finger indentations on the skin when one person touches another. Truly incredible. We ended seeing two other sights from another sight-seeing app Dad had, including Basilica di San Lorenzo, where Donatello is buried, and the Pitti Palace. This is where the Medici family lived. Their names have come up constantly on these tours. Apparently, they were very rich and influential, commissioning a bunch of statues and works and even influencing who the next pope would be. But their names as well as Donatello, Michelangelo, and two other architects (I think) whose last names started with B have come up a bunch on these tours. They were involved in a lot of important and influential stuff.

We ended our day at Museo Della Bistecca for a Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a steak I've been looking forward to trying. Dad and I split a 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) steak - just about the lowest weight we could get. It was definitely good, just not the best I've ever had - tasted like a steak. And I was still hungry when we left! Maybe a good quarter to third of the weight came from the bone. But glad I tried it!