Feeling woozy the next morning, we kicked things off with another walking tour where we hit up the Ponte Vecchio, the Palazzo Vecchio (which had a replica statue of Michelangelo's David), and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
Afterwards, we had a demonstration of how they make leather in Florence as they are well known for it and then we grabbed some food at the main food market.
Emma, Lee, Camden, Gayen (G Boy), Trisha, Me, and Drew
Cam, Drew, Gayen, and I spent the rest of the afternoon following Trisha and Lee as they strolled up and down the leather markets and eventually walked away empty handed. A reminder that we were all still very hungover. Drew did his best to get a bag down from €69 to €15 but was of course, unsuccessful. We made an attempt afterwards to go see the Pitti Palace but we only sat in front of it for a few minutes before making our way back to the hotel to recuperate.
For dinner, we went to a local restaurant where I finally got my hands on some risotto which needless to say was amazing. As this would be mine and 5 others last meal with the group, we had the idea to recreate Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' but never took shape. We got too caught up in getting one last gelato (at least for me).
The next morning, it was time to say goodbye to my fellow travellers as most were continuing on to Cinque Terre (as part of their larger tour). It is always so depressing having to leave a group of people you just met and were just starting to get to know. Leaving these tours never gets any easier. I now have even more friends spread across the world (...well mainly Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, and America).
By myself, I headed over to the Galleria dell'Accademia where the real 'David' statue was kept. I couldn't reserve a ticket online so I was prepared to have to wait in line. When I got there, I was told the wait would be 45 minutes. Well, 45 minutes turned into nearly 2.5 hours. The museum was pretty tiny so I can't say it was all that worth it but I can now at least say I have seen the real 'David'.
After finishing up there and checking into my next hotel, I made my way over to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore just to get a few more photos. Along the way though, I ran into this parade of men dressed in medieval attire.
Now that I've educated myself (as I write this), the parade is for the Calcio Storico Fiorentino, a game with a combination of soccer, rugby and wrestling (more like boxing). This is a sport only found in Florence that goes back all the way to the medieval times and they seem to do it only in June. The prize for the winning team is a cow...
Some mean looking boys
This sport is extremely barbaric. To give you a taste, have a look if you're interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imI7dpzKIoE
Once I finished up at the Cathedral, I made my back to Palazzo Vecchio, again to get a few more photos, but the parade was in the way several times and was now starting to get annoying. The Palazzo was jam packed so I made one final stop up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where I got some stunning views of the city.
I topped off the last day of my #farewelltour with a fresh pizza (this one had 4 toppings which is unusual for Italy) and a glass of red vino. No better way to do it.
I write this post from Frankfurt Airport, waiting to board my flight to Vancouver. It has been an amazing last 4 weeks but has gone by way too fast. Big shoutouts to Camden (my sleep talking Kiwi roommate), Drew, Lee, Gayen (G Boy), Trisha, Jess, Cameron, Zoe & the rest of the Topdeck group, Nicole, Ash, Jacqui, Renae & Chris, Josh & Jenny, and the French Canadian gang from Cinque Terre (Cinque Pluie/Rain Team) for making my travels so much fun, days I will never forget.
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