CITY of the MEDICI
After our most pleasant time in Stresa we headed for Florence via Milan. Train service is exceptional in Italy and we would not be surprised if it were in most of Europe. Train travel is great for relatively short distances without the major hassle of the airport security. We made a discovery: The train stations offer services for gimps like us. Not only does one get to the right train car, but they also assisted us up the steps, and with our luggage. It was a very pleasant service.
As Mrs.T mentioned, she put great effort into trying to learn some Italian. By and large she made progress. However she has a tendency to slip into Spanish. Over the years in Mexico her Spanish has become quite acceptable. But here she speaks a sort of mashup of Spanish, Italian, and English. The folks are very understanding and proceed as if nothing is out of the ordinary. And many are reasonably fluent in several languages. When at the Uffizi, several of the information desks were handled by young students studying languages. Such attention to tourists is very satisfying.
Mrs. T has failed to mention the weather, which to be generous, has been okay. We had only some sunshine on and off, both in Stresa and Florence. The weather was generally damp and there were showers in both cities, even a thunderstorm in Florence. It was a bit chilly at night and only 70ish in the day (22c or so). Mostly this was not a problem but certainly not the best weather. Currently in Venice we have had some significant rain and thunderstorms although it may be clearing a bit.
On to Rebecca's latest:
When we arrived in Florence the train station assistants for people with disabilities were waiting. They helped us off the train and got us installed in a taxi. Their service was much better than at the US airports.
The little apartment we stayed in was on the ground floor near Piazza San Marco. (Yes, there is one in Florence. -dt) Many of the streets near the center of town are full of rows and rows of four story buildings, quite packed together, that curve and wind around little plazas, River Arno, stone churches, and old palaces, following, I can only suppose, the path of medieval streets. These buildings seem to be made of different materials, mostly stone of different varieties but that is only a facade. The buildings we saw being repaired all had brick walls with a facade 6 to 12 inches on the outside. (Old buildings are made of stone but newer ones have been built to appear that way. -dt) Buildings have stories about ten feet high and imposing wooden doors with fanciful knockers; ours were lions but that was just for show. Our door had a strong spring and one needed the strength of Samson to open it.
To get to our apartment we tiptoed through the living room of the owner out to a charming little courtyard which was surrounded by other buildings. We could see up the back windows of the neighbors and of course they could look down on us. But we had our own little paradise of potted plants, a little table where we could eat outside when the weather permitted, sheltered by a vine arbor cover with flowering plants which smelled lovely. I thought they might be jasmine. Our ceiling was about ten feet high with wooden beams. We were home. Our place: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhVDoc6
Florence is an old city. It is full art and history, palaces and gardens, churches and museums. In fact the city put together a package for tourists good for admission to 72 sites in 72 hours. (The FirenzeCard -dt) You could see all of Florence in three days, but of course you have no time off for sleeping. Who would be so silly as to buy such a thing? Evidently lots of people, but not us. In our ten days here we visited a few museums, churches, and a garden taking our time.
One of the first places we went was to the Academy to see David. (Galleria dell'Accademia -dt) This is a work of art almost everybody thinks they have seen. But no, you have not seen David until you have seen the original in Florence. We must have seen a hundred excellent sculptures in the first few days but they were nothing; David was everything. It's not just the size. Although David is taller by half again than most of the others. Nor is it the color, although the brightness of the carrera marble captures your imagination. It is not even the physical accuracy although this statue is Michelangelo at his best. (some parts are out of proportion -dt) There is a spirit in this work that cannot be denied. Perhaps Shelley in his poem Ozymandias explained it when describing another statue:
"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;"
Something of Michelangelo's hand that recreated the marvel of his subject and something of the spirit of his model yet survive.
Another place we visited was the Botanical Garden. This garden had the plants arranged by function. All the medicinal plants were in one section. All the poisonous plants were in another section. YUK!!! Appropriate enough in the land of the Borgias, I suppose. There was a story garden which recreated the Secret Garden. There was too much to see it all but my favorite was the trees. When you are a great prince and think your garden will last hundreds of years you can plant your trees twenty or thirty feet apart so they have room to grow and thrive for centuries and that is exactly what these grand old oaks, pines, and cypresses have done. What a wonderful place. (This garden is maintained by the University of Florence as a teaching venue. -dt) Some pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhVuifv
 | flic.kr Explore this photo album by dxterrible on Flickr! | |
One day when we were wandering down the street looking at the windows we saw the workshop of a jeweler. We were talking about the equipment and the jewelry in the window when Stefano opened the door and invited us in. His work was all original. We really liked it. Well there was one with a ginko leaf I especially liked and the rest is history. I can resist anything but temptation and Dan likes to spoil me. (Stefano Alinari -dt)
On the other hand in Dan's case we went looking for trouble. Dan knew of a pen shop and we went trying to find it. Unfortunately when we finally did they were closed for lunch. When Dan returned he had a great time talking pens with the owners. He did come home with two pens he had not seen at home. Ah well. (Casa della Stilografica; first rate -dt)
On Sunday we went to church in the Medici Basilica. (We think that is where we were -dt) We knew what they were saying more or less, except for the sermon, an advantage for Catholics. I ignored everything and admired the gorgeous old building, marble pillars, stained glass windows, statues, etc. I did listen to the choir; they were all Korean but they sang beautifully in Italian. Go figure. I think it is a shame that there were very few attending this beautiful church. Sigh. The priest - also Korean we think - thanked all the guests for coming and participating as best they could. Hmm.
After that we went to the Medici chapel, very fine I guess, but it was cold and dead, full of dead Medicis and old saints bones. The bones were kept in elaborate gold and silver boxes. (and other artistic containers -dt) These are called reliquaries. If you had a plague you made a parade and marched a saint's bones around the city singing and praying and hoped for a miracle; it was just the thing in the middle ages. I think Martin Luther made a thesis or two about this. By the way if you want to venerate a reliquary you kiss it. I just thought you should know.
When Nick was little I used to read him a book about the 'Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum'. ( a Sesame Street book -dt) I think they were talking about the Uffizi Gallery. For three or four hundred years the Medici family, who were incredibly rich, collected art with great passion. (The family lasted that long but their influence was a bit shorter. -dt) I got to choose and we concentrated on Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, and Caravaggio, but we saw a lot of other interesting works while we were looking for the rooms of these artists. Of these I liked Bottichelli best especially the Birth of Venus. The building itself is beautiful with frescoed ceilings, and painted ceilings and gilded great galleries with silk wallpaper. I was overwhelmed by it all. When we got out I was exhausted and we could not find our little blue bus so we hired a horse carriage to take us back. (We really did not look for the bus after she saw the horse carriage. -dt)
Oh Florence. We saw many other wonderful things. But best of all was David.
More pictures: https://www.flickr.com/gp/9151458@N07/3udfZK
 | www.flickr.com Explore this photo album by dxterrible on Flickr! | |
At this stage Mrs.T said she was suffering writer's exhaustion and could not continue about Florence. Suffice it to say we saw many other wonders there. Did you know there are about a half-dozen 'Last Suppers' there? And the Bargello Museum has perhaps the finest sculpture collection in the world. Pictures of some other items in Florence: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhWrxYi
 | flic.kr Explore this photo album by dxterrible on Flickr! | |
Florence was indeed cultural overload - too much to see, too much to show. The pictures herein barely scratch the surface but should give you an idea of what we saw.
As noted above, we are now in Venice, our last stop of this tour. A report on that will come later.
Stay dry,
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
 | www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com We are still around. You may have thought we fell off the planet as we have not posted anything in quite a bit. But we are doing well at our winter home, mostly normal activities. | |
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