Jared Ning

Travel

Florence

2012-09-26

Art museums are always near the top of things I like to do when traveling. I've been enjoying sculpture more and more lately, and Florence is a fantastic place for sculpture. They even have an open pavilion with some original statues for the public to admire. The real statue of David is in Florence. I had no idea how big it was. It's towering. There's also a really pretty cathedral.

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I went to another musical concert, this time an opera. They performed "La Traviata", my favorite flash mob, what the story of Moulin Rouge is based on, and also the opera in Pretty Woman. It was another intimate setting with only 4 singers in a tiny church.

The food was kind of like wine: expensive doesn't always mean good, and cheap doesn't always mean bad. I went to a highly rated restaurant. They had a special part of the menu that is supposedly the reason they are famous. It's a menu of pastas made with ingredients and techniques of the Renaissance or something like that. 26€ for a small plate of pasta and 3 large shrimp. That plus a mixed appetizer plate + 15% service + 3.50€ "cuperto" (a common way for European restaurants to charge more while doing nothing) came out to be $60+. It was good, but not that good. On the other hand, Some bruschetta and tortellini for much less and just as tasty if not more so.

I also had some really good homemade gelato. It tasted like a lemon chill.

I don't really like coffee, but I had to try a cappuccino (with lots of sugar).

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