There are no words that can describe what our eyes witnessed today; upon entering the Academia we were all prepared to see Michelangelo’s David but none of could have prepared for what we actually encountered. The massive statue, standing 17 feet tall, hovered over us making all of our jaws drop in awe. The perfection of this creature was nothing that any of us had ever seen and it is likely we will not witness anything like it again; the statue portrayed the strength and weakness, confidence and doubt of the young David as he prepared to take on the giant. We spent a fair amount of time observing but I felt that no matter how long we were there no amount of time was adequate.
After the David, Forrest decided that we needed to work up our appetite for lunch and we headed to the Duomo tower, adding 414 steps to the 563 climbed the previous day at St. Peter's in Rome. The view was well worth it! When we got to the top (and finally caught our breath) we were able to see the whole city of Florence from every angle. By the time we were done with pictures everyone was starving! So we all got lunch, had some gelato and did a little shopping at a local market. As soon as we were all gathered together again we switched from casual mode to point-to-point mode. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is Forrest’s was of saying buckle up and get ready because we are moving out to the next location and if you aren’t ready, well, we aren’t waiting! 
It is something we all have learned the hard way! We were on our way to Ponte Vecchio. The bridge crossed over the river and was a jewelry lover’s paradise! It was lined with jewelry shops on both sides all filled with gorgeous jewelry. The best part was at the end of the bridge because it led us to the BEST gelato that I have tried yet and I know many agree. Thank you Forrest!
After our gelato had settled we made out for the bus station that would take us to Fiesole. When the bus dropped us off, we were not happy about what we had to do next but Forrest assured us that it was well worth it, and it was! We were faced with a massive hill that needed to be climbed to get to the Fiesole Convent where lecture was to take place. I will say the only good thought I had while climbing that hill was about the body heat I was producing because it allowed me to warm up a little! Of course when we reached the top a beautiful view of the city awaited us and that was enough to end all complaining from the group. It was there that we had our lecture as the sunset over the city was illuminated by lights, I will admit this did make it a little hard to concentrate on the lecture; that along with the frigid weather! Even Forrest had cold on the brain telling us once in the lecture that 2+2=cold! When we got back we went to dinner as a group and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all ate way too much but it was well worth it! It was the perfect way to end the day; with a full belly and many new memories made!
--Kaytlyn Holm
