May 2, 2005
Jen and I are back in Lancaster after our four week spring break
which we spent on our separate travels. I toured Europe with Susan
and Jen went to Japan as well as some European countries with Donnah.
First stop on
Susan's and my itinerary was Venice. It was a beautiful city, very
easy to walk around though the streets weren't terribly well marked
so it was easy to get lost, or think you were lost and then end up
in the city center! We stayed in sort of a mobile home unit at a
campsite outside the city, and the campsite offered a shuttle to bus
us in and out everyday. We missed our original flight out from
London and had to wait 6 hours for the next one so we didn't get as
long in Venice as we had originally intended, but we enjoyed it just
the same. One of our favorite things, were the bakeries. The first
one we found had these delicious chocolate pastries and all kinds of
good things! Piazza San Marco is the largest square in the city and
is also the location of the Basilica di San Marco--here's a picture
of it. Other than hang out in the Piazza, and roam the streets,
Susan and I sat by the canals and watched the water traffic. They
even had ambulance boats!
After Venice,
Susan and I took a train to Firenze (aka Florence). Florence is a
very artistic city and the home of Michelangelo. We went to the
Uffizi Gallery which houses Botticelli's Birth of Venus as
well as Accademia where the main attraction is Michelangelo's statue
of David. The lines for the museums were very long, we waited 4
hours at the Uffizi. Apparently because the museums are old and
small, they can only allow a limited number of people in at a time,
however they do allow you to make reservations for entrance at an
appointed day and time. If we'd known about that, we would've done
it. We did get the chance to talk with lots of people while waiting
in line though. Many Americans were in Florence the same time as we
were. While waiting in line at Accademia, I met a girl from Boston
who is studying in Rome. Other Florentine highlights included the
many cathedrals including the Duomo and Chiesa di Santa Croce where
Machiavelli, Galileo, Dante and Michelangelo are buried in elaborate
tombs. I took pictures of all the tombs, but since we weren't
allowed to take pictures with the flash, they all are very dark and
blurry.
We also weren't
allowed to take pictures in the museum that had the David, but here
is a picture of a smaller copy on display in Piazza Signoria. The
original David was the center piece of Piazzale Michelangelo which
overlooks the city from across the river. However it was struck by
lightning a couple of times and the wrist was broken by a stone
thrown in a riot so the statue was moved to the museum and replaced
with a bronze copy made by Raphael.
After Firenze we
headed to Roma, but that will have to be an entry in itself. Check
back!
Erica
