Florence Days 12 and 13

Day 12

“Every journey of a thousand miles
must start with a single step.”
Lao Tse

The plan today was to go to Sienna.  I left the apartment in plenty of time to get the train.  But what do we say about the best laid plans?

I cleverly (I thought) managed to purchase the tickets from the self-service machine with some rather unnecessary assistance from a young woman who then asked me for money as she had helped me.  Obviously, she was broke so I gave her some change.

At this time I had not had my macchiato and brioche so I purchased Coffee Americano (filtered coffee) and a brioche from the station bar.  The station was so crowded that a woman bumped into me and I ended up with the coffee spilled on me.  Oh woe is me!

Then the board showed that the train was delayed for 5 minutes.  Then it showed it would depart from Platform 4.  Well with a host of others I duly trudged along to Platform 4, validated my ticket and waited, and waited and waited and finally a train pulled into the Platform.  But no doors opened and after about 7 or 8 minutes the train pulled away without having taken on any passengers. We then heard that there would be further delays and after another 15 minutes we saw that the train was cancelled.  After speaking to a Scottish man who had some understanding of Italian he told me that the train drivers were on strike.  Unfortunately for him he was booked into a hotel in Sienna that day and had only two days there.  I wonder if he got there eventually.

So I thought blow this and took myself out of the stazione whereupon I espied the sightseeing bus.  So I jumped on again –note here if you show your ticket from an earlier ride you get a 10% discount – and off I went.

Via Wikipedia

One of the stops is quite close to the Uffizi Gallery and as I hadn’t yet made it to this Museum to end all Museums, I got off there. To my surprise and delight there were no queues and so I went in and spent the next few hours taking in some of the wonders of the artworks and the sculptures for some many centuries ago, housed in this wonderful museum.  Unfortunately one cannot of course use cameras around the exhibits but here is the link to Wikipedia so you can see some of them.  And there were windows at the end of the long gallery that gave different views along the Arno.

Taken through the old window glass at the Uffizi Gallery

Oh and there was a solitary rower on the turgid water of the River Arno but I couldn’t get him in a photo.

Quite the best food have eaten here

By this time I was getting hungry so I looked around for someplace for a very late lunch.  I discovered a little place called Tavernetta Della Signoria where I had the most delicious risotto ever – risotto e asparagi e gambei – risotto with asparagus and shrimp.  Lovely, lovely.

After this I decided to jump on the sightseeing bus to get back to the stazione but on the way I saw some things to share with you.

Then just as this bus was pulling up to stop, the one going to Fiesole arrived.  So I went back up to that lovely little village nestled in the hills above Florence.  Unfortunately, the ticket office for the amphitheatre and the other museums was closed.  The attractions close at 6 pm and apparently, the ticket office closes at 4.30.  So I missed out on those.

Statue on the square but without any indication of what it represents

Obviously this was once a grand house now divided into apartments

Rush hour in Fiesole

A glass of hose red. and brioche n the early evening

I wandered around the square as I had an hour to wait for the bus to take me back to Florence.  I found a little restaurant/bar and had a glass of not too rough red house wine and a brioche while I sat and contemplated how lucky I was to be here at this time in my life.    It was 5.30 pm so rush hour everywhere but not in Fiesole.  Three cars were the most I counted at any one time going through or around the square.

All too soon the bus arrived and it was time to go back to the hustle of the city.  It was 7 pm when the bus arrived at the station and so it was going to be another fairly late night.  I waited for my usual bus, and waited and waited without any bus appearing so I decided as it was getting late and dark, I would take a taxi from the station forecourt. That was a good idea.  Usually there are rows of white cabs waiting at the station but not tonight.  I stood in line for about 40 minutes before it as my turn to get a cab.  Everybody was quite cheerful about the wait although nobody seemed to know what the hold up was.

My cab driver was a chatty little guy who had worked in London for a year and so was fairly fluent in English.  He explained that the bus drivers had gone out in sympathy with the train drivers.  So I eventually arrived back at the apartment at 8.30 pm so you will understand why there was no blog written yesterday.

Day 13

After yesterday’s full on day I decided to have a quiet day around the apartment.  I eventually went out around 1.30pm to have some brunch.  I thought I might find a little bar/restaurant to have a glass of wine with some food locally.  However, as I was passing the bus stop a bus came along so I then changed plans and decided to go into town for lunch.

Courtyard of Palazzo Niccolini al Duomo

Saturday and the place was full of people.  I’m really glad I went to the Uffizi yesterday.  I am sure there would have been long queues today.

Minestrone soup at Little David Restaurant

I  wandered around and found yet another little restaurant, this one called Little David.  Here I had minestrone soup, Italian style.  Not unlike my vegetable soup so beloved of my son David, but with the addition of lashings of Parmesan.  I must try that when I get home again.

Then I decided to go back to the apartment but I managed to lose myself and walked round in circles passing Little David twice.  I had to resort to asking a dashing young policeman the way.  I have no idea what he said but he had the most beautiful smile.  So I wandered on, bought a gelato and the young woman in the shop showed me with hand movements how to get to the station.  I was almost there.0

 

 

 

So I arrived at the station in time for the bus home.  I got off at a stop near the supermercado to by some fruit for dinner then called in to the patisserie for an apricot brioche and a plan brioche to have with the fruit.  On the way I passed the local flower shop.  What a lovely display.

And so ended the thirteenth day in this fabulous city.

Related articles

• Class Cancelled? Let’s go to Fiesole (italianamericangirl.wordpress.com)
• A weekend in Florence a.k.a Firenze (britwent89.wordpress.com)
• A Day In Fiesole (elizabethinfirenze.wordpress.com)

Florence Days 10 and 11

“Oh to be in Florence now that October’s here”
With apologies to Robert Browning
(Home Thoughts From Abroad)

I have had without any doubt, the most magical day here in Florence.  It started as usual, call from NZ, tepid shower followed by macchiato and brioche at my favourite local pasticerria, I had no real plans for the day so I jumped on a bus and went into town.  I walked through the station and checked out trains to Sienna.  They leave at ten minutes past the hour every hour.  So then I checked out how to buy a ticket from the automatic machines and so I am all set for when I decide to go there.

Then ambling out of the station I saw a big red double-decker City Sightseeing bus.  For just 20 Euros you can have a day sightseeing, jumping on and off as many times as you like.  This seemed like a good idea and so I bought a ticket and hopped on.  There is a constant commentary about the tour giving you advice on which stops to get off to see particular attractions.

I stayed on until we reached Piazzale Michelangelo.  I was totally amazed/blown away/awe-struck at the sight that confronted me.  Spread out before me was Florence and from this high vantage point it all looked like Lilliput but clearly defined, and with the Tuscan countryside spreading out behind it like a theatrical backdrop.

Of course I took scads of photos to bore everyone with when I eventually get home; but oh, it was a truly wondrous sight.

Lunch today was taken at a table overlooking the Duomo and all of Florence.  I ordered a Pizza e funghi (mushroom pizza) e acqua frizzante (sparkling water).  And as I sat in the sunshine looking at that view I experienced one of those rare moments of pure joy, knowing I was exactly where I was meant to be at that particular moment in time. My pizza and water tasted like manna from heaven  because of that.

Signora enjoying wine and nibbles in the sunshine

Sitting there in the sunshine soaking up the sights of this most magical city and the sounds of the many different tongues, it wouldn’t be too fanciful to say that I was drunk with life without ever having had a glass of wine.

After a time I tore myself away from this place that will from now on be my favourite place in Florence and got on the bus.  But this was not the tourist bus but a regular one.  I got off at the stop for Forte Belvedere.  There was a sign to walk to the Forte so I set off.  This led me down a narrow street lined on each side with large houses protected behind high gates.  The road was hardly wide enough for a car to pass me without hitting me.  So I walked and walked in the hot sunshine but nobody told me that the Forte was closed while they dismantled an exhibition.  “L’Anima e la Materia/Soul and Matter” is the largest exhibition ever organised in Italy for the Chinese artist Zhang Huan. The exhibition closed on the 13 October.  So I walked on and found the Bardini Mansion and Gardens.

Villa Bardini Gardens

View from the terrace Villa Bardini

There as an exhibition “The Renaissance from Florence to Paris and back” described as “Treasures of the Jacuemart-Andre Museum return home.  The treasures were housed in three rooms of this palatial  villa and included works by Botticelli, Donatello, Mantegna and Paolo Uccello.  How lucky was I to be here in Florence at this time.  The exhibition closes at the end of the year.

Monopoly Italian style

When I peeped into another room I saw this game of Monopoly all set up and ready to go.

From there I wandered into the Barboli Gardens but I must say that after the splendours of the Bardini, the gardens left me feeling rather flat.  And then the battery ran out in the camera.  I had forgotten to recharge it the night before.  So no more pictures today.

I left the Gardens and hopped onto yet another bus.  I must say that I am getting very confident about bus travel here in Florence.  When I got off the bus I saw that the sightseeing bus was pulling to a stop and as I hadn’t gone all the way around I thought I would jump on it.   And this was a bonus.  I hadn’t realised that there were three different routes the buses took and I was on the one that went through Florence and up to the little hillside village of Fiesole.

via Wikipedia

This charming little village overlooking Florence predates Florence by some eight centuries; it was an Etruscan city well before the Romans colonised the city. In the 19th century it was a favourite haunt of many Upper Class English people including the poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

We stopped only for 15 minutes so no time to inspect the Roman Ampitheatre or the Cathedral which we are told, has its own dome.  Really will try to get back there again before I leave.

And so once again being deposited at the station, I found my weary way back to the apartment at the end of a lovely day – one that will stay with me for many years I am sure.

And apologies, I was so tired after being out for 8 hours that I typed half this blog, fell asleep and had to finish it today.

____________

Day 11

After all the excitement of yesterday I decided to have a quiet day today.

My day started with a long Skype conversation – don’t you just love Skype and then I had my usual tepid shower.

I gave up battling with the darned washing machine.  I don’t know how that woman made it work but I can’t, so the washing was done by hand and is drying on a drying stand.

I can’t resist going into the centre of town and so I did so and wandered around the streets that are becoming so familiar to me now.  I did some people watching and listening to.  How fascinating when one really can’t understand what is being said, but often from the inflections and the hand movements one can make a pretty good guess.

Not so many people queuing to get into the Dome of the Duomo

Something that I became aware of early in my stay was the attention paid to window displays and the interior of some shops

Shop interior

By this time it was around 3 pm so lunch was called for.  I found a little restaurant in one of the streets leading from the Piazza Duomo called Buca Niccolini.  Here I ordered Gnocchi ai quartro formaggi (gnocchi with four cheeses)  The gnocchi which my hostess assured me was “Fatta en cassa” or homemade, was fabulous.

I left the restaurant t0 make my way to the stazzione when I saw this

Such a beautiful young couple with their whole lives in front of them.  I wished them “Una vita felice e auguri” a happy life and best wishes even though it was not said out loud.

So that rounded off another day in this wonderful city.

“In the end, only three things matter:
how much you loved,
how gently you lived,
and how gracefully you let go
of things not meant for you.”
-Buddha

Related articles

• Bellezze D’italia: Firenze (crendina.wordpress.com)

Florence Day 9

I awoke this morning to the sounds of silence from the street.  The workmen have gone.  All that remains are the barricades to stop people driving on the newly laid tarmacadam.

So after the call from NZ and shower I was ready to begin another day in this most fabulous city.  After my usual breakfast I took the bus into town, but again I had jumped on the wrong bus.  I realised this shortly after I got on but with my new-found confidence, I got off  and found my way to connect to the correct bus.

View from the new bus stop

For several days now I have been going to the Ponte Vecchio but each day I have become waylaid by all the wonders around me.  Today was to be the day, but first I wandered around the streets again

More door knobs

Entrance bells

Peep of another spire

More door knockers

until I found a little restaurant/bar in which to have lunch.

Spag bol Italian style!

Then I decided to get real so I took a cab to the Ponte Vecchio.  The bridge is fascinating and was more crowded than any piazza in which I had already been in Florence.

River Arno from Ponte Vecchio

Mask in shop window

A Display of masks inside the shop

Shops on the bridge sell only gold and fine jewellery. The real bling

Houses along the River Arno

More houses on the river bank

River Arno from Ponte Vecchio

Vehicles drive through this arch

Plaque on hotel wall

Plaque depicting Virgin and child

Interesting – side street leading where?

Busy crossing

So many sights, so many people, so much activity, it is almost overwhelming.  But around every corner there is yet another wonder to behold.
As Mark Twain said
“The Creator made Italy from designs by Michaelangelo.”

And just for fun, this is how I feel after another busy day being a tourist in Florence

Sightseeing is so very tiring!

Related articles

• Ponte Vecchio: Pretty As Art (bryanmarshall13.wordpress.com)
• Ponte Vecchio (rhiandmattoverseas.wordpress.com)
• Day 289: Something Beautiful – Masterpieces of the Street (mtmuchmore.wordpress.com)

 

Florence Days 6 and 7

Apologies, after another long day I as too tired to write my blog yesterday so am combining the two days here.

Day 6 – Saturday

After the usual call from New Zealand I decided to have an easy day here and so didn’t leave the apartment until after 12 noon.  I got my usual greetings from the girls in the  passticerria “Ciao.  Come sta?” And “macchiato e brioche” I settled down for breakfast.

There was a different group of people there yesterday.  Locals obviously enjoying an easy start to the weekend.  A few acknowledged me with a smile and an occasional “Ciao” to which I bravely responded “Ciao”.

Then the bus, but horrors I was on the wrong bus.  The driver assured me he was going to the stazione but when the bus took a different turn, I was sure he was going to some other stazione.  But it turned out well because it stopped at the other side of the main station so I knew where I was after all.A wander around the now familiar streets and I came to the Duomo.  The crowds here today were unbelievable; even the Cathedral itself (not the Dome or the Campanile) had a very long queue so I was glad that I had already visited it earlier in the week.

The plan had been to go to the Ponte Vecchio but what do we know about the best laid plans.  I ended up in a warren of little streets, each one holding a treasure for me.

Doors with fascinating door handles

the School of Leonardo da Vinci

a Salumi (charcuterie)

and the same shop inside

A beautiful little shop full of magical smells and beautiful things

A screen that I think was of beaten gold leaf

All these wonders were laid out for my edification.

I found a pizzeria in a back street, Gusto Leo where I had the most enormous calzone – prosciutto e funghi e mozzarella (ham, mushrooms and mozzarella) and acqua frizzante (sparkling water).  How the vocabulary is improving if only so that I can order food!

Then refreshed and replete, I wandered on to the Mercato Nuovo (New Market).  A market has existed here since the 11^th century, and the “new” current arcade was built in the mid 16^th century for the sale of silk and gold.  Now it is mostly sales of leather goods, and I was agog at what was on offer.  Beautiful Italian leather goods, purses, wallets and bags that would make one want to throw out everything they had and start again.  It is possible to buy good leather articles from the market vendors but the products in these shops are beautifully displayed and demand one goes in if even only to touch and look.

Then having bought a few things for gits to take home to family and friends, I got the usual bus back.  But this time, because of the crush of people on the bus the doors closed before I could get off and I was taken to the next stop.  Cries of Basta! Basta! brought no reaction from the driver.

Fortunately, it was a straight and short step back to the area I know.  But there is an upside to this – I found a very large pet shop – large as the local supermarket here – where I found a new red collar for the Beautiful Miss Bella adorned with bling.  Italians seem to be overly fond of their animals.  The entry floor to this shop was filled with rows of different animal food and down below there was all manner of accessories for your pet, aquaria with and without inhabitants, and anything you could want for four-legged or swimming and slithering beings.

So to Day 7 – Sunday

An even later start to this day.  I awoke around 8 am.  The building was quiet; no voices from other apartments and no road works outside.  But it looks as if the serious work is about to begin with these road rollers sitting waiting to be used.

I decided to have an easy day so after a Skype call from home and another tepid shower I started the day with my usual call into the  passticerria but as it was now well after breakfast time instead of a brioche I had a lovely apple turnover.  The pastry was so light it almost melted in one’s mouth.  What a good way to start the day – an apple pastry and a macchiato.

I wandered aimlessly today, people watching and window shopping.  The crowds had increased yet again and so there was a panoply of languages to assail the ears.  I heard a few words of English but not many,  And the lyrical Italian was all around me – definitely music to the ears.

I found the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in a little unimposing building in a side street.  Here were replicas of da Vinci’s working models.  Unfortunately WordPress is now having a hissy fit and I can’t upload any more photos at present.  So I am sorry words will have to do.

Amongst the models was one of a printing press, an armored tank, an olive press, an air screw, a paddle boat and a study of a flying machine.  Incredible when one remembers that this was in the 15th Century.

I discovered more interesting door handles, peeps of church spires at the end of small streets, lovely buildings that bear no notification of what they are and of course, more statues.  And street art is everywhere, a few beggars and people trailing small dogs with them.

Another walk through the market and then the bus ride back to the apartment and another busy day in this magical city came to an end.

 

 

Related articles

• Falling in Love with Florence (italianamericangirl.wordpress.com)
• How to See Florence in 6 Hours (canongoeseverywhere.wordpress.com)

 

Florence Day 5

Well I don’t know what the workmen were digging towards but the reverberations made the apartment shake at 7 am .  A rather rude awakening.

I started the day early with a Skype call during which I talked to my partner’s two little granddaughters.  They were agog to see me and when he showed them where I m on the globe  they were even more amazed.  But as they grow older they will take these modern miracles of technology for granted.

I decided that I wouldn’t go into the city today and instead would wander around this neighbourhood to see what it is like.  So I started off with the idea that before I left I would do the washing.  What a good idea except that I couldn’t get the machine to work..  A call on the next door neighbour was needed. The wife answered the door and came into the apartment, looked at the washing machine, shook her head and said something about her marito and supermercado  so I assumed she would send her husband in  when he returned from the supermarket.  Next a ring on the doorbell and Guilliano the husband appeared.  He is a large jovial fellow who went out to the shed that houses the laundry, fiddled with a few knobs and then I think he said he couldn’t make it work and would call Ornella the mother of the owner.  She was particularly unhelpful telling him to push the knob we had both been pushing.  So after molto grazie from me and prego from him he left.  Shortly thereafter the doorbell went again – turning out to be a busy morning.  There was the neighbour and his daughter Bette who spoke un po Inglesie.  So we trouped out again to the washing machine.  Bette pushed the knobs that we had, checked the water was connected and the electricity connected, shook her head and admitted failure.  So the outcome?  undies washed by hand in the hand basin in the bathroom.  Oh well they are now clean again.  And it really was like something out of a sitcom comedy – perhaps the Big Bang with Sheldon in charge.

Well after all that I needed a sit down and a cup of coffee.  So I didn’t get out until after lunch time to start exploring the neighbourhood.

I started with macchiato a usual but as it was after 1pm I didn’t have a brioche instead I had a Panini type sandwich.

Complete disregard for pedestrians

No parking’s the same in any language I guess

The footpaths are in a shocking state of disrepair

Some really grand buildings-now converted into apartments

A smart homeware shop – the only shop in the street. Unfortunately, it was closed for the siesta.

 

Bikes and more bikes

A repair shop around every corner

And almost as many beauty shops

A bridal gown shop

A car audio shop

School of Music

Supermarket

 

Woman was sitting in window watching the world go by

 

 

 

Tennis court inside dome

Roof of dome

This was a fascinating way to spend a few hours just rambling around the district.

 

 

Florence Day 4

Well today started out as usual with a long Skype call from New Zealand, then a warm shower and out of the door for breakfast.

But before breakfast I had to remove the rubbish.  There is no rubbish collection and householders take their garbage to collection bins.  These are all around this suburb.  So recycling is alive and well in Florence.

Then into my favourite place for breakfast.  This is the sight that greats one as one enters the premises.  Mouth watering to say the least.  But I stuck to my macchiato and brioche.

Then the bus into town.  Yesterday I was accosted by two separate people one to ask directions and the other for my signature on a petition against drugs.  This second girl/woman chattered away to me in Italian and when I told her “Non parlo Italiano” or I don’t speak Italian she then switched to English and told me that I looked like an Italian.  I think maybe that was a compliment; certainly when I look at the fashionable Italian women around this city.

And today on the autobus on the way to town I was asked the way to the Santa Maria Novella train station.  This was easy with a few pointed fingers particularly as it was almost exactly opposite where the bus stopped.  She spoke Italian and I understood her to say that she came from Poland and that she would like to visit New Zealand sometime.

via Wikipedia

Then I set out for the Academie de Belle Arte.  This is of course where one finds the original David by Michael Angelo.  A gentle saunter through streets now becoming more recognisable to me, brought me to the Via Risoli and there at the end was the Academie.  But what a long queue confronted me and it was so long and so many people around that I have resorted to Wikipedia’s photo for this. The photos I took show only people queuing and once inside photography i forbidden.

This is the plaster copy of David that now stands in the square where the original stood for several centuries.

I decided to join a small group being shown around the Museum.  For E60 (gulp  that’s $NZ96/$US81) we went straight in by-passing the queues, had one and half hours with this delightful (pregnant) guide Lara to show us around and talk to us about the artworks, paintings and of course, David.

 

The traffic is fast and furious  Look out if you try to cross other than on a pedestrian crossing.  Drivers take no notice of the road rules.  They stop and double park wherever they choose.  This of course, makes it very difficult for the buses to get around corners, particularly the very long buses with the groin in the middle.  And cyclists I guess,  are the same the world over.  They appear to disregard any road rules, traffic lights or pedestrian crossings, and they are everywhere in this city.

But I did see this one guy arguing with the traffic warden as she was giving him a ticket.  Unfortunately my photo disappeared into the great blue yonder when I was downloading my camera today.

And then after David, I strolled through the square into a market that seemed to be completely filled with vendors of leather goods.  All beautiful of course.  After all this is Italy, and all competing for attention.  But I priced a couple fo items at several of the stalls and they were all the same price.

By this time it was well past three o’clock so  I decided to have lunch.  Not a great success.  The pasta was dry and the sauce lacked body but I was eating it in a pavement café in Florence.  How bad is that.

After that and another stroll through the almost familiar streets to the autobus stop at the stazzione for the ride back to the apartment.

I rounded off the day with a visit to the local supermercado.  That was quite an experience.  But easier this time than the first.

And now I am exhausted.  I was out for over six hours today, mostly on my feet so I shall say goodnight to all my friends in the blogosphere.

And a few more photographs:

 

 

 

Florence Day 3

Well it was a better start to this day.  After a long, lovely chat on Skype to my partner I was able to have a hot shower.  Oh joy and the hair was washed to.  So I sallied forth feeling like a new woman.

The first stop was the passticerria for macchiato and brioche then onto the bus into town.  Here I discovered that the reason I was not able to go up into the Dome or down into the Crypt yesterday was because  I was in the wrong Cathedral.  Instead of the Duomo, The Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore,  I was in The Cathedral di Santa Maria Novella.  Oh how easy it is for a woman on her own to become confused.

So after I went into the same Cathedral asking for directions to the Crypt and Dome I was told I was in the wrong church.  How embarrassing.

Undaunted I set out again on foot to find the right church.  You may wonder how I became confused when the dome towers above Florence – but I did so there!

The historical centre of Florence became a World Heritage Site in 2007.  Unfortunately my photography is not good enough to show this plaque.  But if you click on the image a larger image appears and you will be able to read the words.  Only  found that out after I published the post .

I wandered along the beautiful little lanes of Florence and marvelled at the number of people there.  All tourists many with guides but equally as many in small groups.  This is not really the tourist season and so I am glad I am here now and not then.

Anyway back to my story.  I eventually found the right Cathedral and went inside.  There was complete silence while the many, many people there gazed in wonder and awe at the works of art.  I think it wouldn’t matter how many times you saw these wonders you would never get tired of them.

I did go down into the Crypt where Brunelleschi, the architect of the Duomo, is buried.  The crypt holds the ruins of the Church of Santa Reparata, the original church on the site.

But when I enquired about going up inside the dome the very nice young man in charge asked first if I were “solo?” and then suggested that it would not be a good idea for me to go up the 463 steps to the spiralling dome. I didn’t bother to ask about the Campanile as I was sure to get the same response.  Oh well, perhaps when I come back with my partner?

Lunch today was not in the same class as yesterday.  When I returned to the apartment last night and did the conversion I found that lunch had cost the equivalent of $NZ49/$US40 so I had to rethink lunch today.  And I chanced upon a lovely little Gelateria where I had a gelato and a sit down all for $NZ4.10/$US4.

Then back on my feet and off to the Bargello, a former barracks and prison.  Here is another magnificent art collection including works by Michelangelo, Donatello and Cellini but I shall hae to go back to spend more time amongst this priceless art.

And everywhere I turned there was another wonderful thing to see, another street to go down, another square to cross.  One could spend months here and not even see a tenth of the treasures.

The streets are home to many sellers of leather goods, obviously and the streets are also lined with high class shops  But I am not here to shop, so apart from buying some jewellery for my daughter and a friend, I resisted the temptation.

And then I discovered this pig.  I was told that everyone had to pat the pig but nobody seemed to know why.  So like a good tourist I patted the pig.

So after another full day delighting in the treasures of this Renaissance City I found my way back again to the station to get my bus.  If I am honest here I would tell you that I did find myself going past the same shops and entering the same square a few times but that’s part of the fun.  And in the event I asked a handsome young policeman “Stazionne?” in answer he gave me directions in Italian with the help of many hand movements.  How lovely.

I arrived back here at the apartment, sated in beauty, tired and needing a cup of tea.  I am English after all.  And I have decided that I obviously have not been walking enough recently – my thighs are letting me know that I have walked for about 5 hours each of the last two days.  This must get better!

And a few more photos for you.

So thanks for travelling with me and exploring this fantastic city.  I will tell you more tomorrow.

Post script – Thanks to Nancy at http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/ for the story about the pig – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcellino

Related articles

• Florence Day 2 (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
• Florence Day 1 (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
• Day Two in Florence, Italy: Trip Itinerary (traveltriptips.wordpress.com)

Florence Day 2

I was woken up early this morning by the workmen who are digging up and (presumably) re-sealing the road outside the bedroom window.  This started around 7 am and now at 5pm they are still drilling.  Maybe they get paid by the hour.

That was followed by a long call on Skype to my partner in New Zealand.  Oh how very far away that is.

Then into the shower – another tepid one asI just can’t get the hot water to flow  Really have to do something about this.

Then Day 2 in Florence started. The sun was shining brightly and I was really pleased with myself :

1. I found again the market that Ornella had shown me when I arrived on Sunday.  It’s a seven-day market apparently selling food and clothes.  It was very busy.
2. I found a passticerria close by where I had a macchiato and a brioche for breakfast
3. I got on the right autobus to take me to the stazione from where it was only a short walk to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Fiore (The Doumo)
4. Found JK’s on the piazza for an elegant late lunch, then
5. Found my way back again.

The woman at the bus stop spoke no English but we managed to communicate as I did with the two bus drivers.  It was a little more tense coming back because I had to look for something recognisable.  And it was the market.  So I jumped off the bus and almost got run over by a police car.  Many years ago I had a ticket for jay walking in Santa Monica, California and I really thought I might get another today.  But the policeman simply said “andare, andare” which I took to mean go!

And lunch..  All the tables on the piazza were reserved but the charming maitre d’ (what is Italian for that)  suggested I might like to eat inside.  And what a joy that was.  There are several photos at the end of this missive.  It was like a beautiful home open for lunch and dinner.  I had sesame chicken salad, served with oil and balsamic vinegar, preceded by a basket of bread and  rolls and oil for dipping.  Heaven.  It was  rounded off with a pot of Twining s tea with lemon so my meal was a complete success.  I decided then that I wouldn’t need dinner just some fruit that I had bought yesterday and a couple of brioche from the same passticerria.  So I am all set.

Here are a few photos I took today.  I am sure you don’t need to see all 55 of them.

At the market

The Duomo

JK’s on the Piazza Duoumo

So another day in Florence comes to an end.  I shall sit and read my book as there is no English TV programme available here. Well maybe there is but not in this apartment.

Related articles

• Florence Day 1 (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
• Florence – Piazza Del Signoria (chookelvin.wordpress.com)