Day 4: Florence

(Image 1: Locks on the infamous fence on the ponte vechio, image 2: Image of us singing in the crypt of the san Minato; Image 3: Santa Maria del Fiore and baptistery!; Image 4: Santa Maria Novella I think...)

Today was a long, crazy day. We got up ate breakfast and then took our bus to Florence. We then took a long path through the city seeing most of the main points or monuments of the town. It was amazing seeing these buildings, statues, and roads just come to life in this surreal environment. When we went up on a plateau or the Palazzo Michelangelo to over look the city it was unbelievable, and could hardly believe I was really here... It still felt like a picture posted on the wall, and yet also it was there.. I could touch it, smell it, and experience it. We walked around past churches and names that appeared everywhere that I've recognized and read countless hours about. I already can't wait to go back and get the chance to just wonder, to just try to feel what it would be like to live here, and at the same time it doesn't feel too different.

After a cup of tea at Gilli's bar we walked back to a bus stop. On that walk I got to pass through ages and years of differences in architecture, and the feel of the city. We went from Renaissance, Romanesque, Gothic construction to the modern city. Florence while it has it's gleam and glamor of great art, it also is dirty and everything just is on top of everything. And you see pictures but until you see it, or until you really can immersed yourself in this city, I don't feel you truly can grasp what some things I've learned really mean. For instance I understand much more the importance of materials, space, or even things as simple as stories of artists missing meals to work. And while we in America miss meals or move things around to make things work, Florentines are different. Life is much more home oriented. Some towns completely shut down for lunch. People don't just run day and night because no one would come. Lunch is sacred; pace and relaxation are not just a way of life, but a necessity. And religion while it may contain it's flaws or disagreements its still needed, wanted, and still stands as a monument or piece that loams over every citizens heart. And while many may not be religious or even consider themselves attached to any group, people here still have that reminder that towering cathedrals, or tucked away churches or images as a testament and constant reminder of the past and the future of not only their lives but all those to come.

Tomorrow is another adventure, Tomorrow is not a visit just to see medieval towns or monument to just see. But it is and experience at slowing down, it is an experience to look around, at lives that were simpler and not cluttered, but with just the days work. A place where one has a routine in which everything has a purpose and a specific reason for that order. There is a reason for orders of food, reasons for what to eat and how to eat it. there are reasons to work a few hours and have a few hours off for lunch and then come back to finish a shift. There are reasons why they all have small shops, focus on one or two items and create a small community in which you should not strive to become a visitor, or acquaintance, but instead one of the family.