The Beautiful Bell Tower
We had the morning off to explore Florence. First, we had a quick, but delicious breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and Nutella. Then, we found Taylor and her mom and went out to explore the city. First. we went to the Florence Cathedral. We were determined to climb Giotto's Campanile, a 278 foot tall bell tower that is one of the many buildings to make up the Florence Cathedral. After walking up 414 steps, we were at the top. The red rooftops covering the city were hundreds of feet below us. The view was breathtaking. While we were walking down, we got quite the surprise when the bell started booming from above us. It was an amazing sight to witness.
A Quick Italian Shopping Spree
After a tiring climb up the bell tower, we decided gelato would be the perfect cure for the burning in our calves. It was, of course, amazing. Then, we headed to the market. It was filled with leather, masks, and scarves. It was the perfect place to practice our bargaining skills and find gifts and souvenirs to bring home. I bought a nice masquerade mask for my friend, a beautiful leather bag for myself, and my sister and I split on a cute purse for my mom. The market was nice, and we decided to continue our shopping spree by heading to the Ponte Vecchio.
A Surprise on the Ponte Vecchio
We strolled down the streets, gelatos in hand, to the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge over the Arno River in Florence. While most of the shops were much too expensive for us to shop in, a couple of artist's paintings on the side of the street caught our eye. Aunt Molly and I wanted to go look at the paintings, so Madeline went with Taylor and her mom to go back to the hotel and rest. When we went to look at one artist's stand, I saw a painting that really caught my eye. When I went to buy it, the artist sat me down and taught me how to draw. With broken English, he explained how I needed to shade in my drawing and he talked to me about why he paints. I thought it was amazing that this man would take time out of his day to teach an American tourist how to draw. It really changed my perspective on how different some parts of the world are from ours. After the mini drawing lesson, we went back to the hotel to rest for a few minutes before meeting our tour guide to finish up the day.
The Uffizi Gallery
When it was time to meet our guide, we toured Florence a bit more and then went to the Uffizi Gallery. A huge benefit to traveling with Rick Steves is the local tour guides! When we went to the gallery, we had a special tour guide come in for the kids and one for the adults. Our tour was great! It was the perfect length, and when we finished, we got to go hang out outside and wait for the parents. We had time to talk, play, and watch Ari try to catch pigeons. When the parents finished their tour, it was time to go eat some dinner. Because it was the last group dinner, they had a special surprise planned for us. The tour guides dropped us off in a square and then went off to gather the supplies for our pre-dinner surprise. While we waited, a little Italian boy came up to Ari and asked to play soccer with him. It was amazing how, despite the language barrier, they could communicate with each other and have fun. When the guides returned a few minutes later, they had drinks and food for us to eat. We ate our appetizers, celebrated the friendships we had made, and enjoyed the company of our new family.
The Final Group Dinner
When we were finished with our appetizers, we continued our walk to dinner. What we didn't know was that we would be making our own dinner. For our last dinner, we were going to be making handmade pizzas, with Italian chefs helping us. It was a very floury, messy dinner, but we got the job done. When everybody had their custom pizza in hand, we were ushered down to the bottom floor where we would be dining. Dinner was mixed with so many emotions. I laughed more that night than during any other time on the trip. It was also the only time during the trip where I wanted to burst out in tears. Sarah, our guide, gave a speech and recognized each person on the trip and talked about their special qualities. We finished dinner by talking and laughing. At one point, I laughed so hard I almost spit water out of my mouth all over Peyton, who was sitting across from me. We then ended the night by walking into the streets of Florence to watch fireworks, celebrating Saint John Feast Day. It was a magnificent ending to our magnificent trip. It was a time to celebrate all of the good times our group had had, to reflect on our experiences, and to say goodbye to our new best friends who we would be leaving the next day.