Florence

On to Florence, which did make my list of favorite cities in the world. I love Florence—the art, the architecture, the sunlight, the Tuscan countryside right outside the city—everything. I love the fact that the museum has been a museum since before my country existed and that the main part of the city feels like it's been there for centuries (which it has, of course). Here are a few of my favorite things:

While we were in Florence, we took a short trip to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. I was not going to be an obnoxious tourist and spend my time taking funny pictures. Ha! I totally took funny pictures, and I love them.

 

The tower itself is actually pretty cool, and it's definitely worth the drive, but the most entertaining part was watching everyone take their pictures. See, here's proof:  

We also had lunch at a farm in the Tuscan countryside. Yeah, I could live there for a few weeks. Back in Florence, we spent some time shopping (where I bought a very nice—and very expensive—red leather jacket, which completely broke my budget, but I decided I didn't care because I was in Italy, dang it). We also listened to a couple of street performers on the Ponte Vecchio while watching the sunset (gotta love a guy singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" with an Italian accent). And then we spent some time in the museums.

Here's something weird about me: I get emotional when I experience great art; it's one way I experience God. In some way I can't really explain, I sense the Divine through these magnificent examples of mankind's abilities. Monet does it for me. Beethoven does it for me. And Michelangelo does it for me. Before going to Italy, I joked that I was going to Florence only to see David. Hey, he's a fine specimen of a man, right? Who wouldn't want to see him in all his glory? But then I really did see him. We had a tour guide who was telling us all about the statue, the sculptor, the history, whatever. I turned off my radio and just stood there experiencing Michelangelo's genius—the veins in David's hands, the muscles in his feet, the absolute perfection of every curve in the marble—words just get in the way. And that moment, out of all the wonderful moments on this trip, will be the one I remember most.