On our fifth day in Italy, we traveled from Milan to Florence by bus, and then went to a massive art gallery.

We left Milan early in the day, and were able to view the Italian countryside during the bus ride.  The mountains are very beautiful and I’ve never seen anything quite like them.  The highway was cut directly into the mountains and there were many tunnels.

Upon arrival, we checked into the hotel which is way nicer than Sempione.  The rooms are gigantic and I can actually stand in the shower and not get smacked in the face by the showerhead.  They have nice candy in the lobby too.  I’m looking forward to breakfast here.

On the way to the gallery, we took a quick stop to view the Duomo of Florence, which is just as beautiful as the others we have already seen.  There are many statues in the main square, perhaps foreshadowing the many statues inside of the gallery.  Speaking of which, the gallery was amazing, and I’ve never seen such beautiful art.  All of the paintings and sculptures came with interesting backstories, too.  To my surprise, it seems like everyone’s favorite professor Dr. Atkin is a major donor to the gallery.

We had a family dinner at a local restaurant, and the pasta was fantastic.  I went straight home and passed out in a food coma!  One last thing, here is a painting of Keanu Reeves, which I was surprised to find in the gallery.

Something I learned about Italian culture is that the Medici family ruled Florence for hundreds of years and their money ended up being used to fund numerous art projects such as the gallery we visited, which once housed their offices.