Odyssey to Europe

Essay 11: The Lavish Pit Stop of our Trip.

When morning came, I woke up, ate my breakfast, and then quickly packed my bags, getting ready so we could leave the hotel. After we were completely packed, we left the Attilo Regolo guest house for the last time, heading to the subway, where we were going to the train station. At the station, the two of us just relaxed in a Caf, until our train arrived. On the train, I sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the ride in the spacious and comfortable chairs. Sadly, the trip only lasted for about one and a half hours, so the train ride was over in a blink of the eye. My dad roused me from my sleep, and we both got our bags and left the train, into Florence. Within several minutes after exiting the station, we were at the Ape Rosa Villa, where we would be living for the next two nights. At the first glance, I knew that the Villa would be extremely luxurious. Wreathed in greenery, the massive Villa somehow managed to be imposing and peaceful at the same time, with its lilac colored walls and vibrant trees. A large garden and a pool set behind the villa, adding to the picturesque scenery. Inside, it was just as decorative. We actually had a living room that we shared with other families. Plush armchairs, couches and tables lay sprawled out amongst the room, amidst paintings and pictures. Inside, there were two extremely comfy beds, a TV, and a well stocked bathroom

Our luxurious villa. We just decided to relax for a while, washing our dirty clothes, and resting on the massive beds. After about 2 hours, my dad told me that we were going to the Acadamie Galleria, where the famed statue of David was being displayed. The museum had an impressive variety of sculptures, paintings, and other works of art, from a variety of masters, including the renaissance virtuoso Michelangelo. While the paintings are very impressive, the statue of David is the most memorable, and definitely the highlight of the museum. As it was created by Michelangelo, it attracted a lot of attention even before it was revealed. When it was unveiled, everybody was astounded at how realistic and fluid the sculpture was, so it quickly became very popular.

The statue, and a parody of it. I thought the parody was extremely funny, as it brought some humor to an extremely serious painting, by coloring it in comical shades of pink and yellow.

After admiring the statue for several minutes, we went on to look at the other works of art that the museum had. These were more typical among museums, with paintings of Christian scenes, depicting famed saints, or Jesus.

After seeing most of the museums collection of paintings and sculptures, we left to go eat some dinner. Once we were full, we quickly visited the Duomo, or the symbol of Florence. The Duomo is a massive cathedral, with a massive dome located on the top, and designed to fit the entire population of Florence inside. My first impressions of the Duomo were very good, as it looked extremely imposing. We only looked at the Duomo very briefly, as we both wanted to go back to the villa, and relax. Once we returned home, we just sat in the Jacuzzi for a while, lay in the beds, and enjoyed our first day of Florence. Day 2 Our second day started off on a good note, as both my dad and I slept in a little, until 9:00. Once we had freshened up, we hurried downstairs to the breakfast room. When we had eaten until our stomachs were filled to bursting, we went outside into the garden, and rested under the sun, until my dad said we had to go back. However, we couldnt resist dipping our legs into the cool water at the pool along the way.

Me relaxing on the hammock

The Jacuzzi.

Back at our room, we ended up falling asleep for one hour. When we woke up, we quickly went back into the main city, and walked to the Duomo. The Duomos exterior is probably the most impressive of all the cathedrals Ive been to. Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur might have better designs and architecture, but none of them are as decorative as the Duomo, but the inside is a different matter altogether.

The interior of the Duomo. There are only several stained glass windows, and several paintings on the wall. Everything else is just plain and barren stone. Once we had sat in the church for several minutes, we decided that we had seen pretty much everything, and left the Duomo. Walking out of the Duomo, we headed towards the Museo de Leonardo da Vinci. The museum simply displays about 30 of his models turned into real machines. From an armored tank to an Archimedes screw, all of the models were extremely interesting. Plus, most of the models are in working condition, while you are allowed to touch, crank and play with them, exploring how they worked and why they did.

One of Leonardos sketches: a room of mirrors.

As the museum is very small, there are only about thirty exhibits, so I finished the museum in a blink of the eye. Once we had eaten some food, the two of us then headed towards the river, where we would see the Ponte Recchio, a famous bridge crossing the river. Along the way, we stopped by the Uffizi gallery. We didnt actually enter the museum, but we stopped by a massive gallery next to it, filled with all kinds of statues. We sat down at the edges of the room, watching the lifelike statues, and listened to a street performer playing guitar for money. None of us were willing to leave, but we had to get on with the day, so we headed towards the bridge.

The gallery of statues, next to the Uffizi gallery. Several minutes later, we were at the river. What was different about this bridge was the fact that it actually had buildings on it, with shops, houses and places for tourists to shop at, whilst admiring the view. The two of us just took a small stroll along the bridge, admiring the river, and looking at the items for sale. However, most of the shops were all jewelry shops, so there was nothing to buy.

The Ponte Vecchio.

We were already getting tired, so we hurried back to the bus stop at the train station, took the bus back to the Villa. After eating some dinner, we just relaxed as much as we could, sitting in the Jacuzzi, and laying sprawled out on the beds. The next day, we were leaving for Venice!