Florence

So tired but excited to see the city! And this is like sightseeing on steroids!
Our incredibly impressive tour guide Matt took us through the city. (After sitting so long, it was nice to be in the fresh air and walk around.) . Matt told us all about the rise and fall of Florence's greatest family dynasty, the Medici family. They had a lot of money, made from mostly banking, and spent a lot of it on building up the city. The most famous piece of architecture the Medici family helped create is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We were lucky enough to walk through this masterpiece and fourth largest church in the world! It was truly magnificent and breathtaking.
This was completed in 1434. I am in absolute awe of the skills, ingenuity and perseverance of these laborers. They painstakingly put together these works of art with no cranes, no power tools, no trucks no computers. Basically just hand held tools, ropes and bravery! The attention to detail is just beyond belief!

How do you go to Florence and not get a look at "the world's most famous sculpture - David". Good God. Even back then, six packs were in. Michelangelo, in true artist form, when against the grain and depicted David before his famous battle with Goliath. Most images of the mighty duel shows David victorious; holding Goliath's severed head. But here, Michelangelo decided to show him pensive and confident... that brains are in fact better than braun.

Michelangelo worked on this piece for about two years. It was originally to be placed on the roof of the cathedral... that's why his head and right hand are a bit bigger. But once the committee members of the Cathedral saw this, they knew they couldn't hide it in the sky! They decided to place it in the center of Florence, in the Piazza della Signoria.

The elements were beating on poor David pretty hard. In 1873, the masterpiece was moved to its new home where it stands now: the Accademia. It lasted over three hundred years in its original home! Again, a testament to the hard work these men embraced.

Every detail of the human body is incredibly accurate. The muscle tones, the eyebrows, the veins in the hand. Michelangelo was a man of art and science.

I'm not going to lie... I'm so glad they thought of us dudes on this trip! Here we find ourselves at the Ducati Factory! Not going to lie! It's pretty awesome! Crazy thing is... they didn't start off with motorcycles! They were known for their radios and mini-cameras too. All a family business to boot.

Their first factory was in their home. The house was huge - a mansion really. Their second factory was bombed during World War II. They rebuilt, and kept going. This is when their motorcycles, scooters and racing bikes really started to take off.

The company has been around for 90 years and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. The Ducati bike is the motorcycle to have and to be envied.