Sunday July 26 Florence, Italy When our train pulled into Bologna at 9 am, four extremely tired, but thankful young women disembarked, grateful for the long walk that stretched out our aching leg and back muscles. Bidding farewell to Diane, Shirley, Donna and I immediately sought a train that would take us to Florence.
We booked into our hotel by noon, but only to drop off our backpacks. After several days of pizza or other finger foods, we needed - and unanimously decided - to treat ourselves to a first-class food at a first-class restaurant! To our delight, each delicious three-course meal cost us only $3.00 CDN.
Happily satiated, we strolled back to our hotel, through ancient streets and green spaces that seemed tailor-made for lovers. There we cleansed ourselves and hand-washed our dirty clothes, leaving them to dry in our room, before the three of us went exploring for the remainder of the day.
We caught a local train to Pisa, which lies about 100 km west of Florence. The journey of an hour or so, was quite eventful, since the three of us had been well fed and thus had sufficient energy to entertain all aboard with song and laughter.
The Leaning Tower was, of course, the main attraction. But, of the three of us, I was the only one to climb the 238 spiral steps to the very top of it.
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It felt most odd to be standing at such a rakish angle to the ground. Yet I remained there for a full half an hour, taking in the view while waiting for the sun to set so that I could take a photograph of the architectural details of the 800 year old Cathedral and Baptistry that lay immediately to the west of the slanted Bell Tower.
Descending the Tower's stone staircase, after my brain had adjusted to the slant of the building, was very peculiar. The degree of slant meant one both ascended and descended during each complete turn of the spiral. So when I eventually did reach the bottom, I was completely discombobulated and had trouble standing upright for a good few minutes. Thank heavens Donna met and waited with me there, until my inner ears informed my brain that all was, indeed, well.
Shirley, meanwhile, had attracted the attention of six Aussie boys who had offered all three of us a ride back to Florence. So, at twilight, we all dutifully piled into their van for an hilarious 2 hour journey. But the hilarity stopped rather quickly, when the van ran out of gas on the outskirts of Florence.
Our ever-resourceful Australian friends soon hailed another van of Aussies who drove all but the dead van's driver to a nearby campsite for some beers. After an hour or so of partying with them, Donna, Shirley and I walked and hitch-hiked back through Florence to the comfort of our hotel, finally arriving there at midnight. All three of us fell into bed and slept like logs!
Monday July 27
Florence
We woke at 9 am, to a breakfast of rotten coffee and worse bread rolls. After taking care of our ablutions and packing up our dried laundry, we all left for a tour of Florence: our first stop was
This sculpture of David shows the Bible story of David defeating Goliath with a slingshot and a rock.It is unspeakably beautiful, three times the size of a human being, crafted by a Renaissance Master for the glory of God and the eternal joy of onlookers.
Michelangelo's David was commissioned in 1501, by the city government of Florence. Originally it was meant to be seen from very far below, as a top-piece for the dome of Florence's Duomo (cathedral). So Michelangelo created the statue with a larger head and hands than that of a normal human.
But his patrons were so astounded by the beauty of the piece, and changed their minds about its being placed above the dome of the Duomo. Instead they put it in the piazza (square) in front of the Signoria - the government building of Florence, where all might freely see and admire it.
David became a potent symbol of the Republic of Florence, in its opposition to the notion of tyranny. By this time, the Di Medici family had infiltrated and subverted the Republic ideals of the city. So the David represented a brief resurgence and a brief re-flowering of the democracy of Florence and was beloved by the city and its citizens.
Academy of Fine Arts, Florence
Today the statue is housed in the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence. In 1976, there were no line-ups to see David, we three girls simply walked into the Academy and stayed as long as we wished. I was, uncharacteristically, speechless in the presence of this incredible sculptured masterpiece. And as I slowly walked around it, my mind memorizing every chiselled and polished plane, tears of joy pricked my eyes. It was such an honour to even be in the same room as David!
As a girl, I had devoured many books and
photos of Renaissance art and sculpture.
And they certainly gave me an idea of the
beauty and craftsmanship of this piece.
But to actually be there, so close that I
could have touched the toes of David,
THAT was a dream come true for me!
To this day I relish that
precious moment, tears and all.
We finally emerged from seeing David, overwhelmed by the need to quickly find somewhere to eat an early lunch. En route, we met Aussie Brian and John from USA and then picnicked with them at Independence Piazza before heading for the Uffizi Gallery in Signioria Square.
Uffizi Gallery
This gallery hosts works of art by great Italian artist such as Botticelli, Giotto, Cimabue, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello, just to name a few of the most famous. Its large collection has works from all centuries, but a large part dates back to the periods between the 12th and 17th centuries.
The Uffizi is thus where Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera are kept. Here we caught up with the crowds, who were being escorted through the palace by guided tours delivered in multiple languages. There was no cordon around these exquisite paintings, so I was able to stand within inches of the painting, close enough to examine each brush strokes and almost to smell the paint.
http://www.paintinghere.org/UploadPic/Sandro%20Botticelli/big/La%20Primavera.jpg
Acting on impulse, I surreptitiously touched the painting of the orange grove beneath the foot of beauty, one of the three graces in the Primavera. Sadly, I was not psychically transported back in time to Botticelli's studios, nor was I magically endowed with the graces of chastity, beauty or love. But I did have one huge smile on my face for the remainder of that long day!
After being ushered through the Uffizi at an astonishingly fast pace, we three girls left the gallery, intent on purchasing our own artwork in the form of leather and silken goods that would be easy to carry through the rest of Europe with us in backpacks.
Hot Chocolate
But the minute we stepped into the centre of the Piazza, the heavens opened up, forcing us to run for cover! We three dashed into a coffee shop at one corner of the square, where thoroughly enjoyed the most delectable hot chocolate EVER, made with globs of real cream.There's nothing quite as glorious as getting drenched with your pals in a Florence cloudburst, and then warming up together over a delicious glass of piping hot chocolate...mmmm
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We then visited Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), once of the most visited places in Europe.
Here we saw the Florence Cathedral, The Basilica of St Mary of the Flower and Brunelleschi's Cupola. We also visited Giotto's Campanile, a 14th Century Belltower, and the Florence Baptistry.
The Medici Chapels were built as a personal sepulchre of the Medici family, right in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, considered the "official" church of the Medici family.
The sculpted works began in 1520 by Michelangelo and finished by Giorgio Vasari in 1546 when Michelangelo was ordered to Rome.
The Capella Medici are two structures at the Basilica of San Lorenzo that date from the 16th and 17th centuries. They were built as extensions to Brunelleschi's 15th century church, with the purpose of celebrating the Medici family, patrons of the church and Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
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The Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy) was designed by Michelangelo. The larger Capelle dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes) though proposed in the 16th century was not begun until the 17th century, its design being a collaboration between family and architects.
above extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medici_Chapel
I was able to enter all the exhibits for free because of the International Student Card I'd purchased in Athens. But Shirley and Donna each paid the 'exorbitant' fee of $0.25 per exhibit.
We all arrived back at the Bed and Breakfast by 8 pm. We were definitely foot-weary but still ready to party. Donna even mentioned that she'd like to go drinking with three congenial guys.
I mumbled from the bed, where I was massaging my feet, that the prospect of meeting any guys inside our hotel bedroom was extremely slim.
At that precise moment, Shirley entered the room, escorted by three of the Aussies we'd met the previous day. Luckily I was already sitting down, because I just about collapsed in shock.
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Donna, Shirley and I then spent the next hour pruning and preening and were collected, eventually, at 10 pm. The late hour and our group's lack of colloquial Italian resulted in our drinking beer in a milk bar till the management kicked us out at midnight. The boys escorted us back to the Bed and Breakfast, where a stern looking landlady was waiting on the doorstep for our return at 12.45 am.Wednesday July 28
Florence
Slept fitfully till 9 am, then dressed, packed bags and waited till 11 am for the Aussie boys to return to collect Shirley. When they did not show, the three of us headed to the station where we deposited our backpacks in the large lockers for the day. We planned to leave for Venice that very afternoon.
Divested of our heavy packs, we then headed to the Ponte Vecchio the famed covered bridge that spans the Arno River in Florence.
The Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio means "Old Bridge" and is a medieval, stone, closed-spandrel segment arch bridge over the River Arno in Florence.
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Butchers once occupied the shops that was then (1976) home to many merchants selling jewellery, art, leather, silk and other souvenirs. I bought two silk scarves and a pair of the softest leather gloves I've ever worn.
We all ate far too much pizza, ice cream, lasagne and other foods today, partly because the Pitti Palace with its collections of Raphaels was closed and we'd planned no other activity in its place.
Luckily we bumped into Brian (Aussie) and John (American) again with whom we chatted till it was time to catch our train for Bologna.
Unbeknown to us, our train to Bologna, where would transfer to the Venice train, was a Trans European Express. This meant that a 2900 lire supplement was added for each passenger, despite the fact that we all carried Eurail passes. Although 2900 lire is barely $2 in today's devalued currency, in 1976 the supplement represented more than our daily living allowance.
So we were unceremoniously thrown off the train once the ticket inspector discovered that we had boarded it illegally, and then refused to pay the excess charge. An hour later, we completed our journey in a less luxurious train and transferred, in Bologna, to the evening train bound for Venice.
Next Time
July 28-30
GRAND TOUR OF EUROPE
July 28-30 Venice Italy
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