Florence

Florence
Friday 25/9/09
We took a fast train from Rome to Florence which was a nice change from bus travel. We were there in 1 ½ hours which was great.
We arrived in Florence around 12pm and made our way to our hotel. Again a nice hotel in a good location, right in the middle of the shopping district. We dropped our bags and went in search of the promised jewellery and a leather coat for Peter. What a surprise when we found what we were looking for in 1 ½ hours and made our purchases. Peter didn’t blink when buying me a beautiful necklace which has a knot and 2 balls hanging from the end. It is hard to describe but it is really nice and I am a very lucky wife. I expected to search for much longer especially for my jewellery but the Ponte Vechio has fantastic shops with lots of beautiful pieces. Not only is there jewellery and leather coats but heaps of beautiful leather bags and shoes in Florence. I only wish that I had some other friends to share this wonderful experience with.

We went to the square which is just down from called Piazza Signoria where there were more impressive buildings, a statue gallery and yet another big fountain, which the Italians do so well.Like many of the piazzas in Italy it was full of people enjoying themselves.
We wandered some more and had an early dinner ready for our Best of Tuscany Tour tomorrow.

Saturday 26/9/09
Best of Tuscany Tour
I knew I had come to Italy for a reason and this was certainly a very big reason. As we drove out of Florence on our way our Claudia explained the day ahead and it sounded great.
Our first stop was in Sienna, which was a rival to Florence who constantly engaged in wars up to the 16th century. The town is divided into 17 areas that compete twice a year in the Palio horse race which is a bare back horse race around the focal point of the town the Piazza del Campo which is shaped like a shell. Unique rules and practices are in place, the horses are blessed in the local church, plans are laid and alliances formed between the various areas, a rule that we both liked was that a horse did not require a jockey on board to win. The towns Cathedral followed the practise of intense rivalry with Florence, while the exterior may not match the Duomo in Florence it comes close, the interior however is incredible and in danger of going too far. The marble floor could occupy your time never mind the ornate architecture and designs of the walls and ceiling. Above all an attractive town.
Our next stop was an organic farm near San Gimignano, where we had lunch. Everything we had for lunch was grown and produced on the farm from the homemade tagliatelle, to the ham, salami and salad for our main course and to accompany the whole meal, one white. Two red and a dessert wine. The views over the vineyard were just what I envisaged Tuscany to be like. All in all a great stop.
Next was a visit to San Gimignano which is a town built on a hill with a skyline of towers and has been referred to as the Medieval Manhattan. It was a very picturesque village with lots of small shops with local art and crafts. As with most Italian towns of the time the square is the focal point and it also has it’s own Duomo.
Our last stop of the day was in Pisa to see the leaning tower. I am glad we saw this on our tour as we had talked about catching the train from Riomaggiore to see it. Boy are we glad that we didn’t waste a day doing that. The tower is possibly the only reason to go to Pisa as the little we did see didn’t impress us that much. Back on the bus for a trip that got us back to Florence at 8.15pm. A great tour which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday 27/9/09
Our last day in Florence and I was determined to see Michelangelo’s David. We left the hotel and walked onto the street to find ourselves in the midst of Florence’s answer to the Sydney to Surf. The event was obviously sponsored by Ferragamo as there was a sea of orange t-shirts with this emblazoned on them. It was an amazing site as we fought our way through the crowd to go to the Galleria Academia where “David” is housed. We didn’t have tickets so had to line up in the without reservation line which was about 100 metres long. Peter decided he would go and take care of out train tickets while I went to the galleria on my own. I waited in the queue for about an hour and as I got to the head I found out that it was free due to it being a European celebration and all museums and galleries were free. What a nice surprise. I didn’t spend long in the gallery as I was basically there to see David and I was not disappointed. Michaelangelo was an unbelievable artist and this statue carved from one block of marble lived up to it’s reputation. It was amazing! I know we keep using words like that but there really is no other way to describe them.
I met Peter again and we picked up his leather coat and he convinced me to get one as well. I had resisted all the rest of the time we had been here but he reminded me that I may not get the chance again. I am feeling very spoiled at this time but he assures that the wallet has definitely closed but not until we had bought some colourful plates which we are going to put in the back yard at home to remind us of our wonderful time here.
Another walk around and a few more photos and we will say goodbye to Florence, ready for a relaxing few days on the coast.
Ciao!