From Vicenza, we started our journey through Italy, leading to Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and finishing in Italy again. This would be around three weeks of travel. We (my sister, Janki, and I) had booked most of the places we wanted to visit, our flights, and hotels. We also figured out whether an Eurail pass, or individual tickets would be cheaper for trains. But what was an oversight on our part was that we didn’t reserve train seats beforehand! Who knew the fast trains would fill up so quickly? We only figured out the day before leaving, and we were reserving all our train reservations at the last minute. For example, Paris to Brussels takes less than two hours on a fast train but as there was no reservation we would have to take the three and a half hour one. Similarly, we had to take the 4am train to Florence. Boy, we are so tired. But we got there around morning, gave our luggage to the hotel, and then went to the places we came here for.

Galleria dell’ Accademia di Firenze

We didn’t buy tickets for the Accademia Gallery, so we arrived early and brought some pastries and hot drinks while standing in line. It took around two hours, but then we were in. The gallery is pretty crowded, but we still saw most paintings in their collection. I am not an art historian; the gallery holds the works of many famous Italian painters. But the star attraction is Michelangelo’s David. Now, David is way larger than I thought he would be. I thought he would be the height of an average man, but he’s 17 feet tall! They put him in a long corridor so you can see him from afar. They also have another sculpture, which is the rape of Sabine. I don’t really know the mythology behind this statue. But it was interesting how, as you walk around, the three people immortalised are highlighted from other views. The artist Giambologna put a lot of thought into it. There is also a room with a video explaining how these sculptures are preserved by making plaster casts. That was pretty interesting.

Uffizi Gallery

After visiting the Accademia Gallery, we went to the Uffizi Gallery, which is larger than the other one and has more paintings. A lot of the paintings also include royals. I didn’t really learn to appreciate art that much yet. But we had a look at all the paintings. The views outside the gallery were also pretty, so we took photos. One of the most famous paintings is Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. It is surreal to see all these paintings heavily referenced in pop culture in person.

After the Uffizi Gallery, we took photos in the square, around the palace, had an early dinner, and went to Lidl. It was my first time in Lidl. I still don’t understand how they organise it, and then we were done for the day.

Tower of Pisa

The next day, we checked out of the hotel and then went to Pisa, which was an hour by train. Then, from the train station, the Tower of Pisa is a 20-minute walk. On the way, we got pastries because this place on the way has delicious ones. The one I had was pretty good. Then we got to the Tower of Pisa, which was pretty cool; I took pictures of it pretending to push it. It is really crowded, which makes sense. I also walked around it to see it from all angles. It would be a nice place to have lunch, but you can’t walk on the grass. I wasn’t interested in going inside. After seeing the Tower of Pisa, we returned to the train station to go to Rome.

Final Thoughts

Janki thinks the Tower of Pisa isn’t that cool, but thought I should see it, as it would be my first time. I agreed it was pretty cool. I liked going to the galleries we went to in Florence. But I feel that, as I am not much of an art historian, I didn’t really appreciate them well. If I went back, I think I would know a bit more. Much of the art seems to be inspired by Greek and Roman mythology and the Bible in this area. However, as I am unfamiliar with these areas, I feel inadequate in my appreciation. But I still had a good time and learned a lot despite seeming like we just flew through the places.