Today Andrea and I went out for a walking tour. Now the interesting thing about Italy is that they actually have made free walking tours illegal, so instead tour guides have set their company or organization as a registered charity. I thought that was a fun fact, and it explains why there isn’t all well know group here. So after a Google search we found where a tour started and headed on over. Sadly, the tour guide was not good, no one was really able to hear him, he seemed so disinterested and was like he was just so scripted. We didn’t really learn much, but it was still interesting to walk around the streets and marvel at all what we would cover later on our stay. One thing that the tour guide repeatedly kept on saying was how those from Florence were born in the shadow of the Dome.
After the tour Andrea and I went on our own little mission to find the best gelato possible in our way backtracking to our place to meet up with her parents. When we finally got back to the house we recharged our batteries and then headed it once again to the Dome. Now the Dome is nothing like I have ever seen before! The marble exterior is in the colours of green, white and red to represent the colours of Italy. On our first attempt to get inside the church we were all sent away for having our knees exposed. Determined to get inside Andrea and pulled down our skirts basically to the point that we were the typical rap stars with low riders. We got inline for the second time and those monitoring attires didn’t even give us or anyone a glance. So we got the view of the church at a stands level and now it was time to stand in line so that we could climb up to the top! Now similar to the climb that Andrea and I did in Munich this would not be up to safety protocol in Canada. I have to admit thing that this climb was a hundred times better than that Munich one! What was really interesting is that here were little glimpses as we progressed fourth up; a sneak peak of what is to come. The further we got up to the top the steeper that steps became. By the end of the climb it was as if we were climbing up out of an attic. What a view we got! The colourful marble stood out from the every out stretching terracotta rooftops. In the distance I could see the lush greenery and behind the high hills that looked like they rolled on forever. We all sat along the edge and took in the view and also rested from that strenuous climb! Once we regained our strength we decided to head on down it seems like everyone thought the same too since the stairs are only one way there was a major traffic jam. About halfway down we walked down out to this circular platform where we were able to see the paintings up close and personal that were on the top of the Dome. Up above I was also able to see the tiled patterns all on the floor.
As soon as we got down we crossed the street and entered the Basilica, but not before admiring front door it took twenty six years to make and was designed by Brunelleschi.
It’s intricate carvings told a story form the bottom up. An interesting thing is that in the past those that who wanted to enter the Dome were only able to if they were baptized here first.
Afterwards we had an early dinner and then I was faced to get back to the reality of going back to school. We got back in perfect time for my class registration time. A few clicks later and I have officially signed up to go back to school. I don’t want to think about that, I still about two months before I have to go back anyways, so I am going to make sure that I make the most of this freedom while I have it!