we crossed the arno river, hiked up the winding paths and as we got further and further up, the view just kept getting better. from the top, you can see every famous building, cathedral and clock tower in florence and the entire city looked like a painting. it was gorgeous. We then continued upwards to san miniato al monte and i kept wondering how this was real life! it was beautiful. The basilica overlooks both the countryside and city of florence. There is an incredible wall that separates the busy city and peaceful countryside straight down the middle. The basilica is filled with amazing frescoes, mosaics and paintings carved of sheer gold and marble. built in the 1400's, it was to die for! after the tour, the roommates and I went to explore the cemetary around the basilica. i have never seen anything like it. For what seems like miles, the cemetary wraps around the church with some of the most amazing tombstones, statues and decorations i have ever seen. some families had their own rooms of tombs the size of cathedrals. It was amazing. The art, money, and effort put into the building of these shrines blew me away. the whole place was desolate, with bareley anyone in sight. it was so peaceful.
after a day of hiking, we were rewarded with complimentary gelato from our school. It was one of my favorite days here yet. Just when I thought I was getting to know this city, i continue to discover more and more amazing things.
i haven't yet, but i will upload tons more of these pics (these totally don't do it justice!) on my photobucket account if you wanna look!
http://s1161.photobucket.com/albums/q511/kellmcb90/
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