I believe I can fly!

This post is for yesterday because we had a really late night and were super tired...but here it is!!

So today we attacked Florence like a fat kid attacks gelato. 

We woke up early and saw nearly everything on my little map, but before we set out on our grand plan we grabbed some breakfast at a cafe around the corner from our hostel. The server/owner looked like an Italian John Lenon who walked right outta the 70s, but he was super nice and his mother gave us some free cookies before we left! We loved them. Then our first stop was the Church of San Lorenzo where we enjoyed it's huge outdoor market where did some serious shopping for ya'll back home! We then went to see the Duomo where Tibby nearly fell over with amazement and wonder...can't say that I blame her - it still took my breath away even if it was for the umpteenth time seeing it....still can't believe I'm saying that, "umpeenth time I've seen the Duomo of Florence"!!!! 

But to steal our breath even further, we decided to climb, not the dome as I did before, but the bell tower (also known as Giotto's Campanile)!! It was altogether 414 steps, but it was totally worth it! Not only did we have a fantastic view of the city, but to be able to see the dome from way up high was also such a wild and awesome experience! 

 First steps!!

First steps!!

CRAZY!!!

We made it to the top!!

I also want to say that we had a pretty hearty laugh at an American guy who was coming down one of the staircases just as we were about to go up and he was singing with much gusto "I Believe I Can Fly"....it was pretty darn hilarously perfect!!!

Anyways, after we made our way back down through the narrow tower and out into the sunlight once again, we turned and walked into the Duomo! Tibby agreed that is was a nice break to see such a simple interior after the opulence we've experienced in churches so far. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful and we took our time enjoying the cool air and quiet atmosphere. 

After we left the Duomo, we then walked over to the Palazzo Vecchio and enjoyed the huge piazza there as well as the fake David statue! Then we meandered over to the Arno river where again it was so fun to watch as Tibby pulled me back in amazement as she spied the famous bridge - the Ponte Vecchio! She became even more excited when I said we could actually walk across it! 

We pretended like we were wealthy as we strolled along, looking into the gold and jewelry shops, sneaking pictures of the views in between. 

After we were finished at the river, we made our way towards the Uffizi Museum to buy special passes so that we could skip the lines tomorrow when we went to see some famous artworks as well as the REAL David! It was rather funny though because I had thought that any student could get a discounted price on the pass so I made that known to the lady helping us. Turns out you had to be studying IN Florence to actually get that discount......so I am ashamed to say that we did a bit of fibbing and used my study info to get that pass for Tibby.....oh well!! It worked!!

So, after feeling slightly guilty about the lies to the nice lady, we moved on to get some lunch at the supermarket near Santa Croce - the next stop on our whirlwind agenda!! For less than 25 euro we bought a couple handfuls of cherries, a bunch of grapes, four plums, two oranges, 6 juice boxes, a box of granola bars, a pre-packaged salad, a carton of cherry tomatoes, a bag of baby carrots, a fresh baguette, a bag of chips, a tiny bottle of extra virgin olive oil, some plastic forks and plates, and some lard. Yes, lard. We had thought they were little pads of butter, but we obviously misunderstood the label and thus were very confused and surprised when we opened the packets. Ah well, at least we had the oil for our bread! But it was such a good spread for so cheap!!

So, as we were eating our lunch beneath the shadow of Santa Croce (and the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo), we had a pigeon fly-by and a lovely little surprise was left on Tibby's unfortunate shoulder. 

She was NOT amused (actually quite in a state of disbelief)...but I laughed quite a bit. And got a photo...

....nasty pigeon....

Anyways, after our adventure in the piazza, we took the rest of our groceries back to the hotel room and basically remained there for the rest of the evening. We had planned to go out and see the sun set from atop the hill I had gone to here before, but our legs were feeling sore and we decided we needed to sit down and upload some photos and videos (which should be up shortly!!) as well as get some laundry done. 

It's good we took that time because even still, Tibby didn't get to bed till 3am!! I zonkered out before then, but evidently I continued to speak to her and giggle in my sleep....

Fabulous!

So with that our first day in Firenze came to a close!! Can't believe it's going by so quick! Thank heavens we still have more days of adventure ahead of us.... :)