Leaving a pizza my heart in Italy

We left Rome and headed for Florence. When we arrived, the temperature was around 108 degrees, so we opted to take a train to Pisa, where it would be only 92; many other people had the same idea. Seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa was pretty neat. We sat and looked at it while enjoying some shade from the Duomo (church) next to it. Then we returned to the Airbnb in Florence, where we had a fantastic dinner right next to a square that holds concerts.

Pisa

We set off in Florence to see as many of the host's suggestions as possible. We started with the most anticipated Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze where Michelangelo's David calls home. It was awe-inspiring to see the sculpture with our own eyes. We used a Rick Steves tour to learn about it and the other statues, paintings, and works of art by Michelangelo and Florentine artists.

Florence At Sunset

Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze

The Duomo, better known as the Dome, was located close by, and we spent some time walking around it and marveling at its sculptures and architecture on the Dome and the buildings surrounding it. The clock tower it held was so loud, and all of the buildings around it threw the sound back to the middle of the square.

We saw Piazza Della Signoria to the Loggia Dei Lanzi or Loggia Della Signoria which held many originals and replicas of famous statues, including a replica of David. One of the most impressive was Perseus holding Medusa's head. On the back of Perseus' head was the sculpture's head, Benvenuto Cellini.

We walked across Ponte Vecchio, a bridge over the Arno River that holds almost exclusively jewelry shops. Then to the first pharmacy that now has perfume and fancy restaurants. There were beautiful flower decorations inside of it. We then stopped for some cool air in a market where we had something to drink. Funny enough, we met a family from Tillamook, Oregon, with whom we all had a strange amount in common. We gifted them the map from our Airbnb host and called it a day.

Our next Adventure took us to Milan, where we made a trip to Venice. In Venice, we walked around what seemed like a maze of small ally ways and bridges. We saw shops with beautiful Marino glasswork and theater masks. We stopped in Piazza San Marco, where they were not a fan of us sitting anywhere at all. We saw a bookstore, Librairie Acqua Alta, that is famous for keeping its books in bins or boats that would float if the shop experiences a flood, which happens a lot in Venice. Then we went through the maze of streets and bridges again and ventured back to Milian.

During our day in Milan, we just made an early trip to see the Duomo, which is the 5th biggest Christian church in the world, with many other fascinating features; we couldn't miss it. Outside of the church, there were many friendly pigeons gathered around that knew they would get some food there. Why? Because many tourists, including myself, love the idea of being able to hold the pigeons. If you offer them food, they will come and land on you.