A Very Long Climb

Yesterday was the day I had been looking forward to since I got here. It was the day we were climbing the Duomo! It was definitely not a flip-flop/ sandals sort of day.

To start out our day, we went into the Baptistry. We were there as the JS cast was taking a tour of Florence... haven't they already been here for like a month? Anyways, we got to go into the Baptistry, which is the Baptistry of St. John. It's said to be built on top of the temple of Mars, the God of war. This isn't really true, but it was built on top of ancient Roman bath houses.

The exterior was changed to match the Duomo in 1293 by Arnolfo di Cambio, who also designed the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio. It has three doors, all telling a story. The north and east doors are done by Ghiberti, who marked the beginning of the Renaissance. Everyone would leave through the east doors, or the "Gates of Paradise" and all those who had been baptized would come in from the north and those who were not would come in through the south. Sorry for the history lesson, but I think it's kind of interesting!

I put a picture of the east door up earlier, but here it is again.

Each panel tells a story, this one starts with
Adam and Eve

This baptistry has served as the baptistry for many important figures in the history of Florence. Some of those are Dante, and almost the entire Medici family.

CRAZY amazing ceiling
Each level, like the doors, tell a different
story from the bible

The first pope the Medici helped gain papacy

St. John, with Medici sarcophagi 

It was small, but very pretty.

And then we moved on to the Duomo...

463 steps..

Up and up and up!

The original statues that are on the facade

Narrow winding stairs

The fresco on the dome, without needing to zoom in

Sooo far up!

Amazing view from the top!

Giotto's bell tower

Palazzo Vecchio

Piazza della Repubblica

Santa Croce

San Lorenzo

Narrow stair well + 463 steps + close to 90 degrees = dying

Some of the tools used to build the dome

That was so amazing, and didn't even seem that difficult of a climb. But once we got to the bottom, all of our knees were shaking! I'd totally do it again though.

I was a good 30 minutes late for batik, and I was dripping sweat for about 45 minutes after I got there, with a very shaky hand. But I eventually cooled down and the shakes were gone. Just this much has taken so much work! I don't think I put much thought into this when deciding what design to do. But by the end of the day I was able to dip it for the second time! The first was a light yellow, and second was a gold. I still have lots more to do!

This weekend I will be heading to Rome! And then on Sunday my mom and my Aunt Sharon will fly in and meet us then head back on the train to Florence to stay with me for the week! I'm so excited! They'll be off doing their own exploring during the day, but then we are going to Venice on Thursday! When my mom leaves on Saturday, one of my friends from high school who is in London this summer will be coming to visit! And actually, another friend from growing up is here in Florence right now. So much fun!

Now I'm heading to the Academia for a class assignment I have. Although, I wouldn't put it in the same category as assignment since what I have to do is go view Michelangelo's The David. Best class ever? Yes.

Ciao!