August
12, 2005, Day 5
Pilgrimage log
Today we got to sleep in the latest yet (tour began at
9am), with our tour guide, Andalucia, whom it was obvious had just rolled
out of bed. He told us about Michelangelo's David, which many of us saw
during our free time later, the Duomo, the Basilica of Santa Cruce (Holy
Cross), and the history of Florence and all its amazing artists. We then
had free time for several hours where people hiked the 463 steps to the top
of the Duomo, ate gelato, saw David, shopped, ate gelato, saw more of the
many churches and museums of Florence, and ate more gelato. We had another
fine Italian meal of pasta and shiskabobs.
Diary entry from Rosie
The Duomo,
or as us stupid Americans pronounce it, Dwomo. (Our guide, who looks exactly
like the crocodile Dundee guy, says that we pronounce everything like an
average stupid American, we still argue that we are pronouncing it
correctly.) The Dome was huge. Really, really big. So much bigger…(that last
one is for my brothers). After dinner in our first night in Florence we got
our first peek at the dome. When standing at the corner it looked as if the
pillar/tower (there is still a debate on which it is) was leaning towards
us, much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The next day, we returned. The
entire basilica is completely covered in marble. The colors are green
(symbolizing faith), white (hope), and red (charity). (Green and white may
be mixed up, we all sorta forgotJ)
We didn’t go in the basilica but after waiting in line forever and a day we
made it into and climbed to the top of the dome. 463 steps. I will be happy
to never see another step in my life. Unfortunately I did, and I tripped. I
managed up 463 steps, and then down another 463 (for all you not wanting to
do the math that equals 926…we think), and then I tripped on the ten steps
going down in the museum. Tricia’s never gonna let me forget that one. Going
up the dome, a few people got a little claustrophobic. There was one small
passage all the way up, and it got very, very hot. The view at the top was
amazing…there should be pictures somewhere for you all to see. The way down
we had an amazing view of the dome. The dome is painted in a version of the
final judgment, very pretty but nothing compared to Michelangelo’s in the
Sistine Chapel. The entire view and trip, up and down, took us about 45
minutes. So far the Duomo has been one of my favorite sights, right next to
seeing St. Claire.
J
J
J
Diary entry from Tricia
So since
Rosie just talked about the “Dwomo,” I’ll talk about the David statue (David
and Goliath) by Michelangelo. We went to the David around 4:30, when the
line was supposed to be short. Well, if that was short, I would hate to see
it long. So the line took forever and three days, just longer than the line
for the dome. When we got inside, we had to pay eight Euro just to get in,
and they made us shove our cameras into clear plastic bags: “No pictures.”
We walked through the first part of the museum, composed mainly of religious
paintings. When we first reached the David, Rosie tried to quickly snap a
picture. An Italian lady ran up to her and grabbed the camera and plastic
bag out of her hand. She threw the camera in the bag, tied the bag in a
knot, and said, “No pictures!!” We just laughed and admired the amazing
detail of the statue. Although the detail was amazing, the Duomo was by far
more amazing. The view was breathtaking. However, I cannot begin to
imagine some people climbing through the cramped steps, considering my head
was almost hitting the roof at many times (*cough Robert*). Although the
Duomo was amazing, I’m pretty sure Assisi was my favorite place so far, and
seeing St. Claire’s body was a ridiculously amazing experience. I miss you
all soo much and I love you, and I hope you’re managing to survive without
us!! J
This trip is pretty much as cool as it gets. Much love y’all.
Check out our World Youth Day
message board
Day 5 Video
Small 1.3MB
Large 9.2MB
Pictures
Back to World Youth Day 2005 Page
|Home|Life Is...|Pictures|Calendar|Parents|Extras|Contact Us|
Last updated on
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
|
The Vatican
Diocese of Phoenix
College LIFE
ALIVE!
LifeTeen.org |
