Florence was a rough day for everybody. We woke up early and took an hour-long train ride. In the train station we met Rafaela, who was our guide for the day. She told us our schedule for the day, and we were disappointed that we would not get to see the statue of David or have much time for shopping.

We started the day off by walking to the Ponte Vecchio. We learned the history of how the bridge was the only one to not get bombed in World War II. After that we looked at some more churches. We did not get to go into any, but we got to admire the architecture from the outside. There was one huge Gothic church that I particularly liked.

After that, we went to the museum. The tour moved slowly, because our guide spent a lot of time talking, but I found the art history interesting. We got to see the evolution of artwork containing Mary and Jesus, and learn about the symbolism behind the elements of the paintings. We got to see The Birth of Venus and The Allegory of Spring, which were both very beautiful and had very interesting symbolism. Near the end of the museum tour we were getting very overheated and tired.

Our tour guide sent us in the direction of a market. However, after about twenty minutes of walking, we reached the spot, and there was no market. We did get to go to a different market, where I got a wallet for my dad and a glasses case for my mom, both made of famous Florence leather. We ended the day by going to an American diner. It was interesting to see the Italian’s perspective on American food. I had a cappuccino milkshake, which was awesome.

We took the train back to Rome and finally ended our long day.