Firenze

Okay,

I know I'm backlogged quite a bit, but I now have a chance for some real computer time so I will be trying to catch up on the last week or so.

Florence - July 16-18

We caught our train to Florence and walked to the Ponte Vecchio bridge where supposedly our hotel shuttle was supposed to pick up every 30 minutes. Long story short...after calling the hotel multiple times to find out the actual locations and times for pickup (we missed the 12:30 one and they had a huge siesta in between until 4:00!) we were picked up around 4 p.m. That meant that we had to lug our bags (not as bad for me because my backpack is smaller and has a hip belt - but seriously hot for both of us) from around 12:00 -4:00. We decided with that amount of time to wait, we might as well see something. We decided to walk to the Duomo which is outwardly gorgeous with green and white and a little pink marble.

When we finally got the shuttle, it was about a 15 minute ride to our accommodations for the night. It ended up being a beautiful villa (Villa la Massa) right on a quiet, scenic curve of the Arno river. We were led to a separate building where we had apartment of sorts along with 2 or 3 others. Jen loved the colors of a lighter green with burnt red trim and accents.

One of the good things about the location was that it was remote and peaceful. One of the bad things was that we weren't in a town. We were hungry for dinner and the only close place to eat was at their extremely expensive restaurant. Instead we asked the concierge which direction the closest town was, and much to her bewilderment, started hoofing it. (Our "we really like walking" explanation didn't seem to quite make sense to her.) Anyway, we got to the nearest town about 30 minutes later and found a cute restaurant with some great pasta. Satisfaction! The walk really was nice even if we did have to walk along the highway for a while.

The next day (July 17) we took the shuttle back to Florence and then another bus to the small town of San Gimignano. It was a cute walled city with towers. The scenic views as we walked around the outside of the wall were what you think of as pure Tuscany, vineyards and cottages, greens and browns. It was lovely. Unfortunately, it was REALLY hot again (the sort where you can practically see heat waves flowing in front of your eyes). So we decided to cut it short and make the trip back to Florence to buy a picnic dinner before taking the shuttle back to the villa.

July 18, I started my day with a lovely complimentary buffet that they had. Both this day and the next I went down earlier (letting Jen take her time) and enjoyed the quiet. I was able to request the most marvelous hot chocolate from the waiters in their mint green jackets, journal, or even read the newspaper that they handed out liberally (The New York Times International). They had fresh fruit, fresh rolls with real butter (so nice after only have olive oil!) and all sorts of cereals and juices. Can you tell that this was a highlight? :) Jen would eventually come down and have some breakfast of her own before we would leave on the first shuttle at 9 a.m.

Our last day in Florence was packed with the biggies. We started at the Bargello which houses Donatello's sculpture of David. It was supposed to be the first nude in full relief after antiquity. It was a bronze statue and unfortunately was being restored at the time. We got to see the woman working on it with her magnifying goggles and scalpel as it was lying horizontal which was interesting.

We next made our way to the Santa Croce cathedral where there were many famous tombs. We saw the tombs of Nicolo Machiavelli, Michaelangelo, Rossini, and Galileo among others. We also saw what was supposed to be the tunic of St Francis of Assisi and a painting by Donatello.

Our next stop was the Accademia. Thank goodness for reservations. It was delightful to walk PAST the hot, sweaty line of tourists and be able to enter at our time. In entering the Accademia, I was struck again with the hallway leading up to the domed room where light is shining down on the perfect "David." Ahhhhhh! After getting over our next jaw dropping moment, we were able to then truly appreciate Michaelangelo's "Prisoners." The unfinished statues still captured in their marble really bring forth some interesting emotions. The other statue that I don't remember from before, but certainly appreciated this time was "The Rape of the Sabines." It was a very moving piece done in a spiraling fashion so that you had to circle it to appreciate each side as it reached toward the sky in emotion.

From those masterpieces we wandered to The Uffizi Gallery. It really was an amazing gallery of Italian art. Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "Spring" were two of my favorites. I also enjoyed the unfinished work of Leonardo's "Gift of the Magi" as well as Michaelangelo's only surviving easel painting "Holy Family." The Madonna in one of Fra Filippo Lippi's paintings was sweet and touching. She was modeled after his wife. He was a monk and she was a young nun who fell in love and ran away together to get married. All in all, I have to hand it to the Italians for being inspirational in the world of art especially during the Renaissance.

Another picnic dinner and our last relaxing evening at the villa.

-Stacy