We began our day at the Uffizi Gallery, which is a large art gallery in Florence, and one of the major ones to see in Italy. Thanks to advice from Sarah's grandmother, we stayed only a few hours looking at the amazing artwork, although we could easily have spent days walking around in awe of the masterpieces. We looked at so many pieces in various rooms, including works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, and so many other famous Renaissance artists. Several students had works of art created by the artist that they had to study located in the Uffizi, so many of them explained to us all about the history of that artist and their work.
After spending a few hours in the Uffizi and getting lost in the artwork, we left the building and walked into the plaza that it was near, which we discovered had several members of the Italian Military in it trying to recruit. There were cars and flags and people in uniforms everywhere, and so naturally we had to go and have our pictures taken with a few of them (very quickly so they wouldn't get in trouble). By this time, it was late and we were all starving, so we split up into groups and had lunch in restaurants surrounding the plaza, all very delicious as usual.
After lunch, we met back up in the plaza, The Piazza di Santa Croce, which was near a large church called "Basilica di Santa Croce," a huge Franciscan church in Florence. We then went to buy tickets into the church, and wandered in (very quietly) to look around. As I had begun to notice was a recurring theme in all of the churches that we saw in Italy, it was incredibly beautiful and complex. This particular church was different, however, because it was the burial place for famous Italians such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini, among others. These incredibly well-known people are buried in what is known as "The Temple of the Italian Glories" in English.
Behind the church there was a huge courtyard, beautifully decorated, sitting next to a building that you could walk through to look at various names of people buried there.
After taking pictures at the church and in the beautiful courtyard, we went off on the ultimate quest: to locate what is supposedly the best gelato shop in all of Italy. Being a gelato enthusiast myself, it comes at no surprise that I was very intent on locating this shop. With a map in tow, we wandered toward where it should have been located in Florence, to no avail. We passed the same street several times, going into shops and asking storeowners where to go. Finally, we spotted a man and woman eating gelato! We quickly questioned them as to the whereabouts of the place that they received it from, and we were off. Soon, we located the shop down a small, secluded street and quickly dove into the shop. True to the rumors, it was indeed the best gelato any of us had during the entirety of our trip, with no flavor falling flat. Personally, I enjoyed it so much that I ate enough for at least five people. It was worth every bite.
After getting our fill on delicious gelato, we head out for one last location: The Pitti Palace. We don't plan to go inside the palace, but we definitely want to look at it, and so we're off. Sarah, however, begins to feel very sick, and so instead of continuing Mr. Mumford has to take her back to the hotel. We continue without him, however, arriving at the huge Pitti Palace and taking some snapshots. After getting our fill of that, we head back to the hotel, where we learn that Sarah is sick and continuing to get worse. While she is forced to lay in bed, the rest of us are given a few hours to go to the marketplace that is located directly next to our hotel and shop. We bargain for tons of great new things, (namely leather jackets), and return to the hotel toting several plastic bags.
Later, they return back to the hotel, and we all begin to pack for our early train the next morning to Rome. Florence was a great success, and we all enjoyed ourselves there.
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