The Duomo

     There are many "duomos" in Italy but the largest one is in Florence and I just have to say...it's huge. And magnificent to look at. Anywhere you are in the city you can almost always look down a side street and get a glimpse of it near the sky. It's amazing. I love it. And last Saturday, I finally climbed it. Yep, climbed it. There are 463 steps leading to the top of the capella and it is a feat that is done by hundreds of people a day. The climb was interesting. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, which really surprised me, as I am recovering from bronchitis right now and Saturday was only day 2 of medication. Of course, once I got to the top, I started coughing like crazy but hey I made it. And omgosh the view almost took my breath away. You can see EVERYTHING. Like everything. It's a 360 degree view of Florence and beyond. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, a nasty incident happened later on Saturday and I no longer have my camera so all the pictures I took aren't available. Buuut I will be "stealing" my friends pictures. So so gorgeous. I will have to come back and do it again with a better camera. And maybe on a not so hot day. We were sweaty. Like normal.
     It was just so surreal to think of how many other people had climbed those steps. The dome was completed in 1434 and has been in use since then. That's nearly 600 years ago. Crazy to think about. And the Cathedral is beautiful. Emily says that it's not as impressive inside as the Duomo in Milan but our Duomo is gorgeous on the outside. The colors are pink, green and white and oh it's just so pretty. And enormous. It's the longest nave of any church in the world. And it has a bell tower next to it as well as a baptistry in front of it. That is where the famous gold "doors of paradise" are. I can't believe this is where I've been living for the last 7 and a half weeks. Yep, that long. Which means that in just a week and a half, I'm leaving. Not for good but for now. Such a strange feeling. I can't really remember life outside of Florence. Well no, I do, but it feels like it's been so so long since I lived that life. I was walking with a friend last night and I said "I haven't driven in over 2 months...what if I forgot?!" Which is silly but seriously....I am not looking forward to having to drive everywhere. And that is for another post.
     The Duomo was gorgeous and the views were magnificent. I am definitely coming back and doing that again. Thank you stairs of Florence for preparing me for that epic climb. I wasn't even sore after =).