Florence was simply marvelous. The first thing we visited we visited was the Galleria de Academia. When we got we went through security and then something happened.  I lost my ticket. I started to freak out but fortunately the security guard was kind enough to let me go through. It felt as if I dodged a bullet, but I still had a sick feeling in my stomach. I stepped into the main central room. I looked at the hundreds of pictures that completely covered the wall. Instantly, that sick feeling I had vanished. The tour guide explained that the Galleria was originally a facility to teach art and those artists were allowed to spend the day there and copy the masterpieces. There was a plaster mold in the center of the room. It was a plaster version of John Bologna's "Rape of the Sabine Women" made by John Bologna himself. We then walked into the hall leading to the David. The hall was filled with what seemed to be Michelangelo’s incomplete statues. This however was a mistake. These were called the prisoners and they were incomplete for a reason. Unlike most sculptors Michelangelo did not have to plan out his sculptures in plaster before carving the marble. These showed how much of a genius he was because they showed how he made his master pieces out of a simple block of marble. We then approached the David. He glowed like the moon and the detail was amazing. His body was in perfect proportion, his face and posture showed so much emotion, and even the thickness of his veins and flexing of his muscles were accurate. The statue was never put into the church like it was meant to because it was not biblically accurate. In the bible David was a child, but in this sculpture we see him as a man. In his right hand he tightly clenches a rock and in his left he holds a sling and examines it. It looked almost like he was deep in thought. We then left the gallery and walked through the religious center of the town. We marveled at the huge churches and entered the baptistery. It was amazing. There was stained glass everywhere! After we left we had some free time. I bought souvenirs for all my friends back home and withdrew more money. After that we boarded the bus and prepared for our interview with the catholic priest.