David and Pop-Pop's Europe Trip
Florence, Italy
Climbing to the top of the dome of Florence's cathedral was quite an enedvor. Here is a view of the steep staircase towards the top of the dome, inside the walls.
The view from the top was worth the climb's effort.
The size of the cathedral buldings increases as we approach Rome; the ambience is not a hulking, organic monstrosity depicting the fears and confusions of French medieval thought, but wealthy Italian city-states competing for architectural superiority; the awe now comes not from being overwhelmed or the beauty but the mere existance of such a structure. Looking up into the dome of the cathedral is so impressive, and then you notice that two thirds of the way up is a walkway with tiny people moving along it.
Diary--July 8th, 1994
From atop the cathedral dome you could see out to the hills on one side and the suburbs on the other; down one street peeked through a replica of Michaelangelo's David, startling white; the river Arno (which has fish the way the land has pidgeons) slips by; but most of all the stone buildings with tile roofs and occasional churches, archways, and towers all so much like a medieval city. I had difficulty bringing myself to go down.
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