Traveling from Rome to Florence felt like traveling from New York City to Pittsburgh.

     I enjoyed my time in Rome. Of course, I did. The architecture there is so far beyond amazing that it was incomprehensible for me and I certainly recommend that anyone visiting Italy make a point to visit there. For that exact reason, though, there are a ton of people in Rome.  This doesn’t necessarily make the experience less memorable, it just makes it a little uncomfortable from time to time.

     When we arrived in Florence, I was  blown away by the different atmosphere. Although of course it was raining, I felt a certain sense of comfort when I saw the pedestrian-friendly streets and beautiful architecture.

     My favorite attraction in Florence (which I would recommend to anyone who is coming to visit) was definitely seeing Michelangelo’s David. I, first of all, was surprised by the deep emotion behind this statue. I had no idea that the moment which Michelangelo wanted to capture in this spectacular work of marble was the moment of uncertainty between having seen Goliath for the first time and making the realization that he had the potential to emerge victorious. On top of this deep symbolism of the work of art, I was truly blown away by the physical sculpture. It’s colosal! The details are also simply incredible. From the top of the head to the very toes of David, the detail is simply impeccable. I didn’t even realize when I came to Florence that this would be one of the most incredible things here and I’d never forget it.

     Secondly, to me, there’s always been a certain art in experiencing the people that make up a city or culture. One of my other favorite experiences in Italy has been getting the opportunity to take a cooking class regarding the cuisine of Bologna. First of all, it was very interesting to learn about Italian cooking as being somewhat secular and certainly a lot less cohesive than the way I’ve viewed it before.

On top of this, though, I was able to interact with an Italian woman who didn’t speak any English. I don’t speak any Italian either. The most interesting aspect of this, for me, was that she was able to coherently teach me how to roll out the pasta noodles entirely through charades and by taking my hands into hers to teach me how to do it. It really was an incredible experience. I recommend making an effort to communicate with as many people as possible when traveling.