Who Needs the Gym, Anyway?

Guess how many stairs I climbed today! I'll give you a hint: it was a lot. The answer will arrive soon...

Before I get to today's activities, I'll just add one footnote to Venice. As my train this morning was at 8.43am, I thought it would be a good idea to get up a bit earlier in order to give myself enough time to get back to the train station. From experience trying to find my hostel on the first night, I knew it wasn't an entirely straightforward path. In fact, I thought it'd be safer just to catch the vaporetto that leaves almost at the doorstep of the hostel.

Rather than take the first one that arrived (which was all stops to the station), I decided to wait for the next one that assured me it would take only 10 minutes. Little did I know that it ended at the next stop, so I now had to navigate the streets to Rialto – the next stop on the way.

Now, as much fun as it is wandering the streets with no particular direction in mind, it can be extremely bloody annoying when you do have a direction in mind and you can't manage to find it! With time ticking away and no clear idea how to get where I needed to go, it was with extreme relief that I finally walked out on the canal at exactly the right place – and just in time to catch the vaporetto.

Another three hour train ride and I was deposited in Florence, epicentre of the Italian Renaissance and my temporary home for the next few days. Finding my hostel fairly quickly, I promptly dumped my bags and headed out to see a bit of the city before the night descended.

Initially, I started by wandering the streets as yesterday, but this time I had a target in mind that was quite easy to spot: Santa Maria del Fiore, the giant cathedral that dominates the city. Rather than go in right away, I spotted Giotto's Tower adjacent and decided to tackle its 414 stairs first.

Maybe it's maturity (ha!), maybe it's age, or maybe it was the massive steel cage enclosing the area, but I didn't have a problem with the height from here. Okay, there was a bit of giddiness when I looked down, but nothing compared to the heart-stopping fear I've had at other, much lower heights. From up here you could see far off into the distance, showcasing the city rooftops and the far hills I plan to visit in the next couple of days, with the only structure taller being the Duomo itself. It would've been nice if the sun was out but, as a consolation, the dark foreboding clouds gave an almost equally exciting backdrop.

Back on the ground, I took a stroll around the Duomo to take in its size before entering – and it really is absolutely huge. I'm not sure how big a football field is, but I think this thing might need to suck in at the sides a bit in order to fit inside one. Inside was tastefully ornate, far from the overwhelming vivacity of Venice's Basilico, and for once there was nobody stopping photos from being taken! The most impressive display was the roof of the dome, a full 360 degree mural that, for the moment, wasn't entirely clear.

While I was on top of the tower I could see people on top of the Duomo's dome, so that was my next stop – this time, 463 steps to the top. Seeing as I'd just finished a similar climb, this one was a bit trickier to get through but, eventually, I made it to the top – and once again, that old friend vertigo came back with full force. Unlike the Tower (and uncannily similar to the top of St. Paul's), this time the only thing between me and plummeting to a messy splat on the ground was a short fence. I'm still not sure of the logic behind this.

As I carefully made my way around the circumference, those feelings of height-induced dread were almost entirely pushed out of my mind by the sheer beauty of the view. From here I could see where I'd been on the tower just moments before, and the view from here was even better. Not wanting to leave too soon, I sat down near the edge, tried not to look down and just sat to marvel at the view.

I guess it was around 20 minutes later I started to notice the spatterings of rain hitting me, so taking this as a cue I headed down the stairs and back again to terra firma. It was on the way up (and down) that the mural on the roof of the dome could be seen – and it was a beauty. Horrendous scenes of hell: torture, misery, fire and brimstone, while above were the pure and chaste in heaven. Trust those wacky Catholics to come up with such a heavenly display.

With a handful of sights already checked off my list, I decided to track down the next one – Michaelangelo's David. While I was in Milan I missed the opportunity to see Da Vinci's The Last Supper and, truthfully, this would be the only reason I'd ever go back there again. This time, I have no intention on missing out on what is considered one of the finest sculptures ever created. Like The Last Supper, though, you need to make reservations in order to get in – though, thankfully, I managed to get in two days in advance rather than the months suggested for the Da Vinci.

I also happened upon a nice piazza containing more statues and, mercifully, some shelter from the rain. Taking refuge for a few minutes until it calmed down, I started back the way I came and headed back to the hostel.

Without counting the ones in the hostel, today I climbed 877 stairs. Tomorrow I intend to catch the train to Pisa and take a look around, particularly at its famous leaning tower. Friday is Florence day, starting with David in the morning, followed by as much of the rest of the city as I can possibly fit in, before heading to Rome on Saturday morning to complete my trip.

I hope you'll excuse me while I take the rest of the night off – I'm absolutely knackered!