In the morning some of us went exploring the streets of Florence. We walked down to the river and saw this historic bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. There are jewelry shops lining the sides of the bridge selling all sorts of necklaces and watches. We took a picture along the river and met in the square in front of the Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo.

After our tour of the Santa Maria del Fiore we ventured to the Duomo museum where we watched a video of the dome construction and saw some of the rigging and posts that were used. We had a short break where some of us grabbed paninis, and then we returned to the Duomo to climb the top to the cupola! It was interesting to climb between the inner and outer shell of the dome, and to see where the bracing used in construction would have been as well as more rigging examples. Climbing the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo was the crowning achievement of an awesome day. We arrived just in time, as the city came alive with lights as the sun set. We took some pictures before hurrying back down to the ground and then to the train station.

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