Today we visit Florence! (It is “Firenze” in Italian; I like that name.) We know a few things: It will probably be HOT and one day is hardly enough. Next time we will stay a week.
It’s nice and relaxing to take the train from Lucca to Florence. Nadia tells us the local’s secret: You can buy your tickets at the newspaper stand. She writes out all the info we need to buy the ticket. Wow–that was easy and we’re on the train. The trip is about 1.5 hours. One weird thing that happened: Just before the train is due to arrive, a young woman starts shouting that we are all on the wrong platform; it’s been changed. Fortunately in the short time it takes for all of us to process her information, the train arrives. I wonder if she really thought the platform had changed or if she wanted to witness pandemonium.
It’s a very nice ride through little towns on our way to Florence. The train station is right in the main part of the city. Since we will only be here one day, we decide to buy the “Firenze Card,” a fixed price card that allows the holder to jump the line. Even though the cost of the card is better spread over 3 days, we decide the convenience outweighs the cost. Rick Steve’s, our travel god, says to not buy the card at the train station but walk a fairly short distance to a visitor information office a bit further in town. We easily find the place but it’s closed! We arrive at the place at the same time as 2 English speaking people. They say that today is a holiday of some sort so maybe that’s why the office is closed.
We decide to walk to the closest site we wanted to see hoping we could buy our card there. So off we go to the Academia Gallery to see the incredible Michelangelo’s “David.”
We cannot believe how long the lines are! I ask the man about the Firenze card but he says they do not sell it. So we are off to the rather little known Bargello Museum. Yes! They have it and there are NO lines.
This Bargello Museum is set in one of the oldest buildings in Florence; it dates back to 1255. This museum is a treasure-trove of incredible sculptures. There are plenty of sculptures that you know by heart. There are several depictions of “David” (of Goliath-slaying fame)
and it is interesting to compare and contrast the great sculptures’ visions of this mythical character. The masters who inhabit the galleries include Donatello and Michelangelo with many other lesser known sculptures by name but you would recognize their pieces. It’s so interesting to see how different artists depict the same theme and it’s not just the “David” depiction. For instance “Bacchus” is depicted by many of the masters here. In retrospect, I think this gallery is the most interesting and I’m glad we spent a good bit of time here.
We are hungry! On our way to the Bargello Museum I see lots of interesting restaurants. I am particularly interested in Cafe Leo (since I can’t forget my sweet poodle, Leo). But we pass up Leo’s place and find our way to “The Yellow Bar.” It is the lively clientele that catches our attention. The joint is really jumpin’! The hostess first shows us the fresh pasta-making operation and then seats us at a bench table in the middle of all the activity.
Our server is fantastic! We tell her we want to taste and share good pasta and good pizza. And that we want to start with a spritz!! She serves us house-made yellow and green tagliatelle with fresh vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, amount others), and “focaccia” (but really a cracker-like pizza crust) topped with anchovies and baked. Once the focaccia is out of the oven, it is topped with fresh mozzarella slices, shaved Parmesan and a “salad” of arugula. For dessert Howard has lime sorbet and I have a waffle “cup” with a bottom layer of chantilly (sweetened whipped cream and crème fraiche) topped with fresh berries (strawberries, blackberries and I think a few blueberries). And of course a carafe of Chianti. We love every bite of our lunch and really enjoyed the “entertainment.”
We visit the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), a gothic cathedral with an incredibly colorful and unique facade (pink, green and white Tuscan marble) and with the first dome (huge and beautiful) built since ancient Roman times; the Duomo museum is closed for renovation so we miss that (but we would not have had time even if we wanted to see it).
Next is the Uffizi Gallery. We must see the incredibly wonderful Botticelli gallery (Birth of Venus). The galleries seem to be never ending and the amount to see is similar to the Louvre in Paris; our time in Florence is running out. As we RUSH back to the train station we get to see Ponte Vecchio, an ancient bridge that even from old times was lined with silver and gold shops.
We should have spent 3 days here minimum; 7 days would have been better. What a beautiful city! We are pretty much exhausted after a day of heat, humidity and crowds and we happily board the train back home. Our treacherous trip back up the mountain is uneventful! I think that luck comes from clean livin’. HA!
We decide that if we were to come back (and we’d like to) we would stay 3-4 nights each (or more) in Florence, Lucca and Siena plus maybe spending time in Cinque Terre.
As much as we love France and the French, Italy and the Italians are a different “planet” and we like it a lot.