Rome--> Florence--> Milan

Sarah and I had a decision to make. Should we go from Rome, stop in Florence to check out the Statue of David, and then either go to Venice for the night or Milan, closer to Barcelona. We decided on the latter because Venice would have added a lot more hours by train and it is an extremely expensive city. For the first time, surprisingly, we rode a high-speed train from Rome to Florence. The train must have been part of a new fleet because every seat had an outlet and each cabin had screens that showed how fast we were going and how much further to Florence. The train lasted only an hour and a half. Of course the nicest train had to be one of our shortest also. We arrived in Florence, also above 90 degrees, and walked through the inner city, making our way toward Accademia, the museum that holds the Statue of David. On our way through side streets, we unexpectedly entered a giant flea market. We wanted to stop at a bunch of stops, but we figured we needed to see the Statue of David first, then we could come back. I was told by my buddy, Will (the one who is now living in Paris), that the Statue of David is so massive and was his favorite piece. I had also heard that the museum wasn't that large and it really only held one very important piece of famous art. The line outside, however, made it seem like it held just as much art as the Vatican Museums. We found out that the line wasn't nearly as long as the other museums, but because the Accademia wasn't that large of a place, they managed the amount of people going in. They let 35 people in on 15 minute increments. We ended up waiting only 30 minutes, bearable. Most of the art inside of the Accademia wasn't as breathtaking as the Louvre or the Vatican Museums, but it's pride and joy is outstanding. All the way in the back of the museum, STANDS the Statue of David.....

Most of the museum's visitors were in this large dome, and I can't blame them. The piece is nothing what I expected. Will even told me that it is much bigger than I would think. He tried to warn me, and the Statue of David still surprised me. I am a pretty big guy and I didn't even reach his feet. The stand that he stands on is taller than me. Then you get to the actual piece. The flawless curves and details of his body is impeccable. Michelangelo is a genius. The Sistine Chapel and Pietà we had already seen inside the Vatican, and then this?!! There was a sentence on the board in front of the statue that had a quote from I can't remember who, but it said along the lines of 'looking at The Statue of David makes you not need to look at any other sculptures again. This is the greatest sculpture ever made.' I could not agree more. It is crazy how well done David is, and it takes you too much time to take it all in. Most pieces we have seen on this trip have taken at most five minutes to see all of it and then move on. Not David. Sarah and I sat there just staring at him for over fifteen minutes. One giant piece of marble, sculpted to that. WOW!

After finishing our time in Florence, we made our way back to the train station and made an evening train to Milan. Milan was also experiencing a heat wave, so we were very happy that our hostel was not that far of a walk from the station. We checked in and were told that we were getting a bigger room than we booked because they had overbooked. We got a six bed room just to ourselves! A kind of cheap moment on the part of the hostel was when I went out and asked the front desk how to work the AC. They told me that it cost extra, but at that time, we had been hot all day and grossly sweaty. Might have been the best 8€ spent the whole trip haha. Sarah and I blasted the AC on full blast our entire stay. By the time it was bedtime, we had to get under blankets, while everywhere else was scorching and stale. It was perfect in our room!