Italy

I was in Italy this weeked! It was wonderful. The weather was so amazing. It felt like summertime in Minnesota. It was sunny and in the high 70s for most of the days. I went with my apartment-mate Juliette. We stayed in Bologna and traveled to Florence from there! We got there on Thursday, April 5. When we got there we walked around the city center until we could check into our hotel. After we checked in, we went on a search for this church I had seen on the top of a hill on our drive into town. After climbing up and down a couple of hills, and realizing that our map was inadequate, we gave up and got some food.

The next day we went to Florence. The train ride was gorgeous. The hills were covered in vineyards and beautiful little houses. When we got there we got some gelato and headed toward Accademia - the museum where they keep, among other things, Michaelangelo's "David." We had to wait in line for over an hour! David was amazing...he is a lot bigger than I thought. After that we headed toward the Uffizi Gallery, but stopped at the Duomo, a gorgeous old church with a world famous dome! It was so incredible. At the Uffizi we waited in line for almost two hours! Inside there was a lot of Italian art. A lot of it had been owned or commissioned by the Medicis. My favorite was Boticelli's "Birth of Venus." After that we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to the train station. Because we got there too early for the next train to Bologna, I got another gelato and we sat outside in the beautiful weather watching the sun set over the church of Santa Maria Novella.

On Saturday, we walked around the University neighborhood. The University of Bologna is the oldest in the world. Founded in 1088, I think. That's also where Juliette's dad went to medical school. Then we went to the Pinacoteca Nazionale, National Art Gallery. By the end of the weekend I had seen/read about so much Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo that I was having dreams about the ninja turtles. That night we went out for a real dinner. It was so good!

Sunday was Easter! Juliette and I went to San Petronio's which is a HUGE church on the main square in Bologna. It isn't finished though - I think they ran out of money, even though it's almost 700 years old! Afterwards we sat next to the fountain on the main square and wandered around town a little, ending up next to another fountain in a big park. I actually got a slight sunburn on the base of my neck, where my v-neck didn't cover! Then we had a picnic!

It was a great trip. Lots of sleep and art and sunshine! I am going to go back to Italy. I really loved it, and there is so much more that I want to see and do there!

Me in front of Neptune's Fountain



The Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio's



A market with lots of yummy food!



Isn't it beautiful?? I loved the brightly colored buildings and green shutters. They were everywhere!




On our hike/search.



Luckily, the view was excellent . We climbed these hills!



Where's the church?




Gelato! Rick Steves (my guidebook) says the have the best in the world in Florence!


Juliette and I in line to see David.


The Duomo!



Me and the Duomo.



Inside...incredible.



The painting on the dome.



On the square in Florence with Juliette being funny in the background "ruining" my picture.


Me with Machiavelli. We share the philosophy the it is better to be feared than loved.


Florence and the Arno from a window in the Uffizi.


A sunny courtyard in Bologna.



The turtle fountain that we loved!


Easter Sunday after Mass outside of a municipal building of some sort.


Our picnic!