Firenze, et al.

Laying in bed a stone's throw from Le Tour Eiffel with a bedroom window view of Sacre Coeur, I suppose it would be good to wrap up Italy by sumarising our lovely time in Tuscany.

Arriving at a clearly Soviet era train station in Florence, I was first put off about the impending days in Italy's city of arts, an impression that swiftly dissipated. We dropped our bags, grabbed some tasty pastries (nutella pie takes the cake) and hit the museums. First: the Accademia, Florence's former school of arts, and present home to the magnificent 'David' by Michelangelo. Fifteen feet tall, gleaming white, and unabashedly naked, the statue of David reveals a calm and even suave hero, much different from the action pose struck by the David in Rome's Borghese gallery. The statue was brilliant.

Then we proved once again that the world really is small - out of the crowd stepped a friend from the dance team, Naomi, who I was quite excited to see on this chance encounter! Recalling my 2008 travels, this wasn't the first time I accidentally met a friend in front of a famous work of art, but nonetheless it is amazing all the same. And yes, Naomi and I both recognized that David's settled hip put him in a perfect position for cha cha. Ah, dance.

Next stop was the Museo dell' Opera Duomo, the museum for Florence's medieval cathedral. Aside from the amazing 'Gates of Paradise,' a 10 paned, gold plated pair of doors depicting old testament scenes, I was only moderately impressed with the museum. I suppose the gleaming silver cross and mantlepiece were pretty good too.

For lunch, we dined at Verrazzano, where we enjoyed a tasty board of mixed foccacias, such as proscuitto with parma and savory roasted onion with olive oil. I also enjoyed a thick, rich drinking chocolate, which is much thicker and chocolatier than hot chocolate. I need to have that more often :-) Tyler went for a glass of red and Rachael stuck to water, but we collectively destroyed the foccacia. Go to Italy. Eat foccacia. Experience a new culinary world.

We spent the afternoon at the famed Uffizi Museum, which was founded in the late 1700s. In addition to the large collection of Raphaels, The museum houses 'The Birth of Venus,' (Botticelli painting), 'Venus of Urbino' (Titian painting), and 'Medici Venus' (Ancient Greek sculpture). Having seen these works in photos, it was actually much more interesting to see them in person. I wonder how much of their fame is bred in itself - surely these works would hardly be noticed today if some people centuries ago hadn't promoted their supposed brilliance? Nonetheless, the works were still impressive and I am glad I had the chance to see them.

Finally, we meandered through the freezing cold up to the Piazza de Michelangelo, a hilltop plaza across the river. It afforded us some beautiful night time views of the city, and especially the Duomo (cathedral) which towered above the rest. With a few clicks from the camera (ok, more than a few), we marched back down the hill and had a chic dinner on the Arno (gnocchi in gorgonzola!). The free jazz (and post dinner gelato) made the evening complete.

On the second day, we began the morning by climbing the Duomo cathedral dome. The cathedral's exterior was white marble with elaborate green marble patterns and rose marble highlights. The inside, in contrast, was very plain; Florence had a lot of money - thus the fancy exterior to show off to the world - but wanted worshippers to focus on God instead of decor while attending mass. The dome and the accompanying bell tower dominate the Florentine skyline, so the views were fantastic. Sure enough, the soviet train station stuck out in comparison to the yellow stucco walls and red tile roofs.

We also hopped over to their covered market for a lunch of their local specialty, ribolleta - a mushy mixture of bread bits, canneloni (white beans), spinach, a mysterious yellow stew base, and topped off with a dousing of olive oil. We quite enjoyed it, but I can see where others wouldn't.  Of course, this brought about a cheeky mid afternoon nap. Post nap, we meandered out into the cold again to view Pitti Palace, home of the Medicis turned art gallery. I think this was my least favorite- it seemed to go on for interminable length. The art could barely keep me awake, but I think the best part was the building itself. Rachael and I particularly enjoyed the 'White Room,' with almost a dozen  diamond-laden chandeliers sending rays of light bouncing off the mirrors, white walls, ceiling, and carpet.

Anyway, another fantastic pizza destroyed (this time at Yellow Box) and we meandered the streets strung with decorations and lights back to the hotel.

And that brings us to Friday. The fateful day when we rented a car to drive around Italy. Of course, we knew we were in for it when we literally got lost pulling out of the lot. 20 minutes later, after a stop at a gas station for a map and broken-English directions, we were finally on our way.

The first stop was a quick one in Pisa on the coast. The leaning tower was the whole point of the day trip, but we did not see the need to spend long in the city. The lean of the tower is more surreal in person than in the pictures, and it was interesting to see a structure that (unlike all other old structures in Italy) wasn't perfect. Of course, its imperfection has made it all the more popular through the years. From Pisa, we drove northeast to Lucca, a medieval town known for its fully in-tact city wall. We wandered the tiny city streets for a bit, almost failed to express our lunch order to an Italian waiter, and bought a few of the most delicious oranges (we saw olive and orange trees throughout our Italian travels; we were ready to give them a try!). I also convinced Tyler and Rachael to rent bikes with me for an hour so we could make a couple laps around the wall. Our one-hour rental allowed us two laps plus a stop to explore some of the ancient Roman fortifications. The city was very quaint and I would love to go back! Turning south east, we drove through tiny towns on country roads as the clementine-orange sun drooped behind the rustic hills. We rolled into Siena shortly after dark (maybe 5 pm?) and walked straight to the center of town. Their medieval city hall sat dramatically at the center of a half-bowl shaped plaza lined with restaurants and overlooked by a facade of buildings. The large, enclosed plaza was a sight to behold at night, so we sat down for dinner to prolong our stay. For my last Italian meal, I chose a tasty, rustic risotto served - as always - with bread and a glass of wine. The quaint shops gave me the opportunity to purchase an original sheet of 'original' (random) medieval music (buried under a stack of art), but I hesitantly decided that 42 Euros was a bit expensive for my tastes. Sigh...

The next morning, I went back to the Florence market for some real olive oil and pasta before checking out Dante Aligheri's house. The 'Casa di Dante' museum was quite poorly laid out, but it still portrayed that the circumstances surrounding Dante's life in Florence were very confusing. The political factions amoung the guilds and ruling classes provided a spectrum of motives as people vied for power. No wonder Dante's 'Divine Comedy' is so full of references, distributing the good and bad of Florentine society to the three heavenly realms. I am quite keen to read the trilogy again... though my reading list is way too long.

Alas, I reached the end of my time in Florence. Parting with Tyler and Rachael (who would follow a day later), I flew north to Paris, France - the land of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, and..... my parents! In the next episode, I will outline the run up to Christmas.


Ciao, Grazie.... and Bonjour!