Florence was a day to remember (pun intended). It started with a sleepy morning with everyone chugging down their morning coffee and some rushing down so they wouldn’t be late. On the train, I got to see beautiful scenery, rolling highs and endless fields of grains and flowers. When we arrived, you could feel that Florence was different than Rome. To me it seemed more city-like, but still preserved its history and beauty. We met our informative guide who walked us around the city, then to the center where we all got amazing coffee and snacks. Soon it was time for lunch, so we split off into groups to eat. I ended up going to this cool looking vegan burger place that turned out to be terrible, but I ate some of it anyway. After that my group went into the leather markets and was baffled at people’s persistence to sell. Finally, we decided to walk into one of the shops. We met an extremely funny Sicilian man who offered some nice deals to us. After the girls bought some leather it was time to climb the dome, and we made it after 400 something steps. The view I thought was better than at St. Peter’s because there were no bars going all the way up. On the way, down we had to hold onto the walls to not fall down. It was very narrow without handrails, and the stairway curved a lot. We made it down without injury though. The rest of the day was just as good. We saw the David, and could walk around and do a little bit of shopping then had dinner before we left. It was like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, in Florence and in Rome. It’s like time that will forever stand out in my memory.

I arrived in Florence to see a very tall and wide church that I was not expecting to see, the doumo. Part of the church was supported a very large dome, a feet of genius at the time it was built. The architects even studied the pantheon for inspiration. The roof of the dome is what was the most amazing. It The whole thing was painted magnificently of heaven, and below a Dante’s inferno like image. The lower outer edges were painted in dark blacks, reds, and grey colors. Bodies are twisted into all types of positions as demons and hellfire throw them all about, some fight, some roll over.

In the middle of all this, there is a calm spot. Angels clear a small section out of hell, and open up the door to the higher levels. Above are white clouds, beautiful people and winged angels, as well as lots of bright colors. As my eyes continued to move upward, I noticed that the people in each level gain more and better clothing as you move up. This may have been to symbolize the religious power of the church and clergy in a materialistic symbolism for people to understand. In the middle, there was a picture of what appeared to be a very muscular Jesus in a meditative position, extending light out to the world.

Giorgio Vasari placed that image there so that he could show the light reaching up to heaven, but also down to the darkness. The painting as a whole showed the mostly illiterate population that you want to follow the church or else… Like saint peters, the church took a long time to build, and so did the incomprehensible artwork at the top of the dome.

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My favorite architectural piece in Rome is St. Peter’s Basilica. The building itself was initially a pagan temple, then St. Peter decided to make it into a place for Christianity. He had Michael Angelo work on the decisions for the church, but he was too old to see it built. It took generations to complete, each one working on a specific section, or adding their final touches.

When we first walked in there we were all jet lagged and had been up for over 30 hours. Still, in that daze you couldn’t help but appreciate the genius that went into building the structure. The small letters near the top on the inside seem to be 2 maybe three feet, but they are actually 6 feet tall.

On the inside, not a single drop of paint was used. It’s hard to believe when there seems to be countless masterpiece painting. What I learned was that those paintings aren’t paintings at all, but expertly done mosaics.

Friday morning, we climbed the dome, and it was a lot more than any of us expected. We counted every last step (some with different numbers) but the right answer was 551 steps to the top, and there was no elevator down. It was a good morning exercise, and the view at the top was well worth it. Everyone looked so small, and I felt as though I was on top of the world, and like there was so much more to life.

I will remember the people, places, and things forever. Talking about the trip is one thing. Then going on it is another; a fast-paced experience with a lot of fun and a lot of breath taking sights. But when you’re back, you can truly reflect on the amazing time you had, and think about being at the top of a 448 foot dome with people that made you smile.