We were excited this morning to be going on a day trip to Florence. We caught an early bullet train from Rome Termini and arrived in Tuscany in 90 minutes.

Our exploration of Florence commenced at Piazzale Michelangelo, a spot high on the hill in Florence with panoramic views of the whole city. The views are breathtaking. There is also a monument to Michelangelo; it's a copy of David in Bronze flanked by copies of the Medici tombs. A beautiful spot to commence our day in Florence. We headed back down the hill to our next stop - Accademia Gallery. We picked up our "skip the line tickets" only to find that they were "skip the big line" tickets as we waited in our reserved line for 40 minutes to enter. The other line to get into the museum would have been at least a 3 hour wait in the sun. We were happy with 40 minutes. The reason for the queues - David. And he was worth the wait. Michelangelo's supreme statue stands at over 4 meters high. No picture can adequately offer the true beauty and definition of David, down to the veins in his hands. The statue is incredible and so life like in muscle tone and definition that you are just waiting for it to move. A masterpiece like no other I have seen, and potentially ruining all statues I see in the future, the cannot compare!

After we finished visiting David we walked to Piaza Del Duomo, where we saw the Basilica of St Maria Del Flore, a 153 meter long and 38 Meter wide it can hold 30,000 people. The build of the Cathedral started in 1297 and took 140 years to complete. It's exterior is a neo-gothic marble facade intricately detailed with religious symbols and freezes. It's enchanting in it's decorative details. Along with Giotto's Bell Tower and the Baptistery the Piazza is a feast for the eyes. We then took a tourist bus to Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Florence that survived German Bombings in 1944, and flooding of the Arno river. Made up of 3 solid arches it is lined on both sides of the bridge with shops with their original shop shutters. Originally these shops were all florentine butchers, however in the 1500's they were replaced with Goldsmith shops that remain today. Of course the prices of the jewellery in these stores reflect the now booming tourist trade. Despite best efforts I could not bring myself to pay 3 times the price for a piece if Ponte Vecchio jewellery.

We caught the train back to Rome and after a quick dinner rested up for the next two non-stop days.