Blair is: Supporting Falling Towers and Staring at David (Assisi, Pisa, and Florence)

Assisi, Florence, & Pisa
November 16 – 18




Assisi was quite idyllic, overlooking open Tuscany and fields from a hill. In Assisi is a basilica, a beautifully painted basilica holding the remnants of Saint Francis (San Francisco, which explains why it was sister city to San Francisco!) I loved the night sky painted on the ceiling, and the view was incredible.

Soon we were in a town called Firenze to see the David. I was very confused, because I thought he was in Florence. Half the group got lost (including me) and we were soon found. It wasn´t until we passed Ghiberti´s Doors to Paradise that I realized Firenze was Florence!

We arrived at the galleria and entered. After walking around the “Rape of the Sabines” to see it from every angle, I stepped through the door and gasped – he was a hallway away and still huge! I stalled, looking at Michaelangelo´s unfinished works, which seemed as though they were trying to break free of the marble. Finally, I stood before the most perfect figure I have ever seen. His face, intent on the unseen challenger, and his posture to his perfect anatomy – he was beautiful, and I never wanted to leave.

I explored the rest of the museum, before going back to the David for a while. I soon left with Madeline and Vanessa, wandering the streets and picking up a strawberry whipped and pena cotta ice cream. Yum! We soon met up with the rest of the group and headed onwards to dinner. I sat with Avani, Ashley, Rachel, Ryan, Lindsey, Laura and Jasmine, enjoying a meal of salad, pesto pasta, turkey, and wine. Lots of wine. We all sat at our table long after everyone else left, just chatting and enjoying each other´s company. We took a cab back to the hotel, since the bus had stopped running.

The next day, we went on our walking tour of Florence. I was a tad upset because 3 minutes into the tour my camera decided to die, even though I had just charged the battery the night before. But actually, not worrying about having to take pictures gave me the freedom to just look at everything, really examine everything I saw with my own eyes instead of through the viewfinder of my camera. I enjoyed seeing Brunelleschi´s dome and the tower where the two church officials were pushed out of, beginning the reformation.