The alarm sounded this time and I shut that bad boy off. It was far to early for any sane person to roll out of bed. I slept fitfully for another forty five minutes. In the end the drive to see sunrise from the “Spanish steps” won out over sanity, I lept out of bed. Ellen asked what’s wrong where are you going. “Off to see the sunrise if it’s not too late” Ellen, “I’ll come”. Me, “I’ll see you up there.” Ellen can be slow getting started, she reviews everything she plans to take, gathers up her stuff, puts it away, reconsiders what to take, reviews what she has. This can take some time. I’m glad she does this, often someting she brings along “saves the day”.

For me, I just threw on some shorts, a shirt, grabbed the camera and slipped on my sandals and I was gone. The hike to the overlook up the stairs was not bad. It was cool, but not cold. The walk was invigorating. I was alone climbing the stairs.

There were seven others at the overlook aside from the coffee and beer vendors and a cleaning crew: a Russian couple, a striking blond woman in a bright orange dress; three Italians who arrived on two vespas; one Asian guy; and me. The sun had risen but had not broken above the surrounding hills. The outlook at Piazzale Michelangelo is quite dramatic and affords a wonderful view over the old city of Florence.

After about twenty minutes, just before the sun peaked over the hills, I heard Ellen’s voice behind me, “Hello”. I was great that she came up before the sun lit up the valley. It did not feel good leaving her behind, but I did want to be sure not to miss the morning light over the city and watch the subtle changes. It was great being together at sunrise.

Early, but not early enough! I did set the alarm and thought I had slept through it when awoke at 7:30. A quick check showed the alarm on my kindle set to 4:45 am, but for weekdays only. That’s been fixed and we’ll try again tomorrow.

Off for cappuccino and a crossant at our local trattoria, Rifrullo. In the morning it is a sleepy cafe, in the evening this trattoria is at the gateway to Plazzale Michelangelo and it is extremely busy. The transformation is hard to believe, you have to see it yourself. We’ve enjoyed our stay in San Niccolo, with the locals primarily. It is on the south side of the Arno but still within the old city walls.

After our morning coffee, we walked to the Academia museum to view Michelangelo’s David. We arrived “early” and the line was already down the block. It promised to be a zoo inside. I queued up wondering where Ellen had gone. After a few minutes I noticed her scanning the queue and I waved. She noticed and waved me over. She had asked one of the museum folks (for lack of a better word) when was the best time to come and the woman said that if we come in the evening after dinner the museum is empty. Really? Ok, we left and stumbled into a non-descript church/museum. There was an entry fee, but not for Firenze card holders; we were in.

The interior courtyard was peaceful and we took seats to rest for a moment. Then inside one room there was a video description of the restoration process of one of the frescos. It was informative and fascinating in a geeky sort of way. Also in the room was one of the old bells from the tower. The way the bell was attached to a wooden beam was amazing in itself. The bell stood as tall as I am. I’ll post photos of the hanging mechanics on “gypsies”.

The annunciation by Fra Angelico in the Museo de San Marco considered revolutionary because of its spacial awareness. It is a transition from Gothic to Renaissance.

Going up stairs was a mind blowing experience. One of the most famous frescos of the annunciation stands at the top of the stairs. Now I’m anything but religious, and not given to admiring religious art. The artwork I’ve seen in Italy is outstanding and this fresco is no exception. To just wander into a church and find such a relic blows my mind. There were illustrated bound books of music, clearly of a 12 tone scale, with pages open in the main upstairs chamber as well as a description of the materials used to “paint” the illustrations. Imagine a book two feet six inches by eighteen inches with a quarter inch leather front and back cover. Each page is one third illustration and two thirds music. The music is layed out in four bars with notes centered and straddling the bars. It will be fun to play a few stanzas of this at home. We’ve photographed what we could.

The ceiling of the church was finished in the same way our apartment is. It has beams running horizontal with ceramic tiles cemented together running along the beams. Clearly this church is much older, dating from the 12th century, but interestingly the construction is contemporary with our flat.

In the very last alcove of the second floor of the church there is a missing painting. The iron hooks that hold the piece are there; not the painting. In a small placard there was a card stating that the Michelangelo painting is on loan and can be viewed in the Tokyo Museum.

By now lunch time was in full swing. We happened upon the botanical gardens of Firenze and walked the gardens until close to two oclock. We prefer to avoid crowds of people looking for lunch. Heading back towards the Duomo, we stumbled upon the Four Seasons Hotel, Firenze. We walked inside, toured the grounds, and came upon al fresco patio dining. The menu was two to three times more expensive than similar items are in the tourist areas which are already 2x more than elsewhere. Sanity prevailed over hunger; we left in search of a good lunch. While we were touring the Four Seasons, a golf cart with a notable couple cruised by. They were the only people we saw on our garden walk.

Outside the Four Seasons, and having lost our sense of direction, we walked past a trattoria, kept walking, discussed eating there and hunger won out. As we were seated at Cibreo, I noticed the couple from the Four Seasons was seated beside us.

We ordered a chef selection of antipasti, a tuna special, and chicken meat balls with potato. I ordered a beer and the waiter’s expression was enough for me to switch to red wine, a nebbiolo. Bread was served first with a small dish of a wonderful paste that went perfectly with the bread. The combination of flavors was so well melded, we could not identify any of the flavors distinctly. The combination was wonderful. The antipasti was a selection of cured and raw proscuitto, marinated pickle with a caper flavor, duck liver pate with a square of soft parmesan cheese spread, mozzarella cheese, and two wonderful jellied yoghurt plates: one lemon the other tomato and basil/oregano. This was the antipasti!

The wine in Florence is among the best in the world. The nebbiolo went very well with the antipasti. The tuna dish was scrumptious. There was a layer of potato or risotto mousse with basil and/or broccoli that made up half of the casserole. Atop that layer was a thin layer of either mild pimento or tomato (both??) with a thin slice of fresh tuna roughly a quarter of an inch thick with buttered seasoned bread crumbs at the very top. This was a very flavorful and fun to eat dish. It was served with a second chafing dish of greens atop a bed of pesto with an abundance of parmesan cheese.

The chicken meat balls were served with a bright orange sauce similar in color to a vodka sauce, but not the same. The meat balls were two inches around and very soft. The potato came in a separate chafing dish with cheese and spices.

This was a lunch to remember. For Ellen the meat balls were not that special. In truth, the tuna dish and the jelled yoghurt dishes were the best, oh and the nebbiolo.

We headed home for our evening siesta. We were quite happy to skip gelato shops. By now it was 16:30.

At round 19:30 we headed out. Our only must see was the Academia museum and Michelangele’s David. We got lost on the way by working ourselves entirely off the tourist map into “unknown territory” with mostly Italian speaking people. No problem, but it’s difficult to find your way back when you don’t have a map. Ellen asked directions at a boutique hotel which turned out to be part of an international chain of boutique hotels. I’ve taken note and may book some of our future stays through them.

We had become so used to walking the old part of Firenze that we had walked right out of the map. Finding our way back to the Academia museum with instructions was easy. But wait, nobody was outside. The entry tapes were still up, the museum was open, but NO LINE? We walked in, had our Firenze Passes validated, and walked into a nearly empty museum. I have photos to prove it! If you are visiting Florence for more than a few days, make it a point to go to the Academia museum after 20:00; the later the better. There may have been ten other people in any of the rooms with us while we were there.

This may hold true for any museum open after 20:00.

We left the museum at 22:00 and again got turned around, headed in the wrong direction, but we were saved by a kiosk with a map and a “you are here” marker. With that and some soul searching, we found our way back without incident.

Unlike cities in the US, it is perfectly safe to walk around cities in Italy after midnight. Italian families do just that. They eat late. Where we eat at 17:00 to 19:00, the Italians would not consider having dinner before 19:00. As we left the museum at 22:00, there were Italians sitting down to dinner in local trattorias

On the way home before getting lost, we passed a gelato shop near the Duomo that had a line around the corner. We do not know if this was a famous gelato shop or just the only one open nearby. I’ll check later. After getting lost we had gelato at a shop run by a Roma transplant whose husband makes the gelato. My caramelia, a blend of chocolate and caramel, was great. The chocolate in my stracciatella was less than perfect. Ellen had no complaints.

We’re home now, had half a melon, some bread, cheese, beer, and wine for late dinner. We hardly needed dinner after our lunch.

Tomorrow we will replace my carry on with a larger suitcase to make transporting our new found belongings easier. I want to see the Lapis Lazuli exhibit that we stumbled upon when going to the Pitti Palace yesterday, that’s on our list for tomorrow. Also a second attempt at sunrise over Florence in the early hours. It’s almost 23:00 now. We’ll see how that goes.

Once again we have stayed on the south side of a river across from the the busy tourist part of town. We can easily walk into the old city, and we do every day. We also enjoy walking out of the busy part of town to be with the locals in their trattorias and caffees. It is not that we live in a quite part of town, more that we live in a locals part of town, it feels different. Less English, Russian, and German is spoken. Much more Italian is spoken here. We travelled not to “get away” but to arrive at a new culture and history and to absorb what we can of it.

Florence at night

Ron

(One reader mentioned not seeing photos in our blog. Right. All the photos we post are available in the photo section of www.eldergypsies.com. Still it is not a bad idea to post a photo or two to break up the monotony of my “voice”. I’d say our voice, but Ellen’s is not monotonous… So here’s to you, Cyn, for your comment!)

We had the most romantic evening of our trip this evening. After a relaxing few hours, we set off to find the source of our evening musical entertainment on an overlook behind our flat. It is quite high up on the hill. Following our noses, we went down San Niccolo to a tower and found a series of steps leading steeply up hill. There was a clue: a street sign pointed the way to Piazzale Michelangelo, right up the steps. Up we went. The heat of the day had passed, but the stairway was long. We slowed to a comfortable pace, not Ellen’s typical forced march, and reached the top of the stairs without withering.

In front of us, across a busy street, there was a circular drive and what looked to be outside seating for a restaurant. On our side of the street to the left, a walkway opened out onto a cement veranda with a stunning view overlooking the entire city to the north west. The Sun was beginning a slow slide into the far mountains, but was still high in the clouds. We walked along the esplanade and found a wide series of steps down to the left now crowded with young people sitting, talking, drinking, and having a very good time. This is Florence’s version of Roma’s Spanish Steps. We walked on taking photos as we went, walking past first a band playing the music we heard last night. They were very good. Next we passed street vendors and cart vendors with an assortment of Tourist trinkets and t-shirts. (I have to get a really trashy tourist t-shirt, that is so bad it’s good). Rounding into a large parking lot we came upon a string of Ferraris parked side by side. My guess is a small gathering of owners were having dinner at the restaurant.

While we were walking the parking lot, many people photographed their girl friend or family with the cars as a backdrop. On father had his three children do so, and they sat on the hood of a very expensive 360 modena spider. These hoods are very thin and easily dented. I restrained myself, I guess this could be his car after all. How incredibly inconsiderate of the fellow.

We walked to the restaurant across the road, not to eat, but to check the menu. We figured the restaurant was high priced and not necessarily authentic. The prices were not too bad, just double what you would expect. I thought the view would be worth it, Ellen said, “look at the tree tops breaking up the view”. She was correct. We crossed back to a gelato vendor who had seats under an awning, but all were taken. Ellen spyed a bar just beside the gelateria. There I found a cold beer, Ellen a scotch on the rocks, and we both had very satisfying heated sandwiches. Ellen had pannini, cheese, and proscuitto. I had eggplant with tomato cheese and pepperoni on a multi grain roll. We took the food “take away” and found a spot on the steps to watch the sun set over the Arno river and the Ponte Vecchio. The band was playing behind us. A pleasant breeze swept the overlook, the air temp was just right. It was idyllic.

Ellen struck up a conversation with a Brazilian family seated beside us. I could not hear most of the conversation above the music, but did not have to.

We walked back down the stairway as the sky darkened, and walked north along the Arno rather than going right home. Coming back along the river we came upon a roped off seating area for an open air trattoria. A sandy stretch of the Arno sat below the wall. People walked the sand, a small trattoria was open with seating under white umbrellas, and a cordoned off area marked seating and an ad-hoc dance floor. A band was starting up. Curious, we walked around the restaurant and down a cement ramp to the sand. A blue ray projector ran on one wall, with a down counter running in a corner as the band started up. When the counter hit zero, a non-descript movie started. The band started with Johny B-Good, but a sound failure stopped the music about half way though. We waited around for maybe fifteen minutes before giving up and heading off for gelato. No shops were open along the way, thankfully, and we arrived home around 10:30pm.

We think lighting over Florence will be much more spectacular at sunrise and our current plan is to get to the top of the hill at Piazzalle Michelangelo early.

Ron

We’re back home for an afternoon siesta to avoid the crowds and the heat. The heat really is not that bad today and we do not know about the crowds. Visiting the Uffizi early was great, though Ellen and I both like to take our time with paints and sculptures that speak to us. At first there were one and two and small groups of people shuffling by as we pondered, examined, oooh and ahh’d at paintings and sculptures. I’m not big on religious art, but the craftsmanship and artistry that went into some works stopped me in my tracks on a number of occasions. What brought me to tears was Boticelli’s gallery. The Birth of Venus and La Primavera are exquisite. The workmanship on the religious pieces in his gallery do project the love and joy that these two paintings do. Like most artisans and artists of the day, Boticelli made his living creating religious works for wealthy patrons. His two pagan themed works are masterpieces; I stood transfixed seemingly forever.

Later in the morning the occasional small group became mid-sized tours shuffling by. Clearly it was time for us to boogie, which we did pretty much all the way to gallery 90: Carravaggio. His work marked a shift in the craft and his use of light is remarkable. The pieces are displayed in a very low light condition. They are dark and emphasize the light falling on faces, hands, and clothing. The shadows fade into his dark borders. Photographed with moderately high ISO, these paintings POP. They are quite dramatic.

With the Firenze Pass, we can return tomorrow and pickup where we left off, thought I expect we will linger in the Boticelli Gallery once again.

The Uffizi is enormous. The rooms are art treasures in their own right. Some corridors are long, wide, high, and festooned with sculptures. It is impossible to take in everything the museum has on display in a week. As I wanted to see the Carravaggio exhibit, I asked a guard in Italian, “Scuzi, dove eh Carravagio, por favore?” And much to my surprise I heard a staccato of Italian in reply! Seeing my blank expression, the guard answered in English, whew. It is near the end of the exhibit, room 90. Boticelli was in room 20. After just a few hours of walking rooms filled with priceless art, I was reeling on overload and we made a bee line for the exit. We will go back tomorrow and perhaps the following day.

Leaving the Uffizi, we wandered side streets looking for an appealing trattoria for lunch. We skipped several, choosing “Il Barroccio”. It was nearly empty, but the menu appealed. Ellen chose to sit inside where it was a bit cooler. Our waiter spoke quite good English, and described two specials that appealed to both of us except for the muscles. I asked if one could be prepared without muscles. With Italian waiter’s typical knack for misunderstanding, the water assumed I had ordered the dish without muscles. We straightened that out: yes the chef can prepare the meal without muscles, no: I do not want that meal for lunch. I ordered in quite bad Italian as best I could. Ellen ordered a salad, she wanted something crisp and light. I ordered a plate of Tuscan sliced meats followed by vegetarian lasagna and a Morretti. The lasagna was excellent. We may make reservations at that restaurant for dinner tomorrow.

Ellen wanted to visit San Croce Basilica after lunch. I was pretty much “museum’d out” for the day, but agreed to go and was very pleasantly surprised. The basilica is enormous, ornate as you would expect for an Italian basilica, and it houses the remains of some very famous personages: Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini, Machiavelli, and Dante! Well not Dante actually. Florence has been quarrelling with Ravenna over Dante’s remains. Dante died in Ravenna and the city refuses to give him up.

We headed home around 3pm for siesta ahead of our climb up the hill behind us to see what we see. On the way home we stopped for laundry detergent, some more fantabulous bread, and I splurged on a second bottle of wine, not sangiovese as before, but a brunello. The sangiovese was as good as from Napa and Sonoma that I’ve tasted. In Florence, boutique wine shops with wine tasting are as common as gelaterias. Wine is a very big thing in Florence, and unlike Napa or Sonoma, the wines are not expensive. Sure you can pay whatever you want for a bottle, but the everyday drinking wines are between $8e and $25e and appear to be excellent quality. Were did the US get the idea that French wines were the bees knees (aside from Napa/Sonoma)?

We will look for a live performance this weekend.

Ron

With Firenze Passes in hand, we are off to the Uffizi early then to the Academia to see the original David by Michelangelo. In the evening we plan to walk to the top of the hill behind our flat where the fireworks were launched. There was an evening performance last night that lasted well past midnight, the music carried to our flat. We hope to watch the sun set and see whatever the performance was that had the audience in an uproar of pleasure.

Our afternoon is open…

The Pitti Palace was huge with extensive gardens and acres of pristine land outside the garden. That last is probably part of the Medici lands owned by the city of Florence today. They look as they did one thousand years ago.

We’re off on another adventure….

R&E

Deja Vu, all over again (a nod to the babe).

After Rome, Istanbul, and Venice, I thought Florence would be “the same” as one of these. No, it is not. Rome has a grand history written in its ancient architecture. Istanbul is quite literally East meets West and it feels that way. It is a modern city built on ruins that have not and most likely cannot be recovered. Venice, ah Venice. The canals and the instability of the “islands” prevents high buildings in most of the area. Where high buildings could be safely built, the older monuments to Venice’s Power and Glory were built. Her canals give Venice a sense of spaciousness where there is none.

Florence. Florence in its prime was the largest city in Europe with three hundred thousand people. Today it houses four hundred thousand. It is built upwards. It has many narrow streets (though not by Mykonos standards). Florence is unique. Visiting the Italian city states is reminiscent of exploring the Greek Islands. Each one was very different, but each port of call was a small town on an island; excluding Corfu, Athens, Istanbul, and Venice.

This morning we awoke late and took a late start after a leisurely breakfast “in”. We headed out to first find a local coffee shop we can frequent to get to know the locals. We found one in the next block. Cappuccinos finished and il conto paid, we headed off to get a Firenze Pass, the key to the city. We walked to the Duomo and it is huge. The building in front of the Duomo is under renovation making photos difficult, but we will post some later. We walked around the Duomo, found the ticket booth, and asked where we could purchase a Firenze Pass. “Not here, at the Uffizi you can buy”. Ok we headed off the the Uffizi, walking past a beggar woman with a cup motioning us to put coins in. We moved on. I feel for these people, but do not want to support begging. I’ve given coins to street performers, who can be very accomplished.

Headed to the Uffizi we stepped into Piazza Della Signoria by the clock tower and saw Circus, a restaurant recommended by Alissandra who owns our flat. We stopped for pizza and beer (yeah, I know, how American). The beer was great, the pizza was so-so. (more about pizza at another time)

We continued to the Uffizi ticket office which was not at the entrance to the Uffizi but at another museum. We stood in the information (wrong) line and were directed to the purchase line. No problem, and fun as there was an informative video playing while we queued. We bought two tickets at $77e each good for three days. That might sound expensive, but not only does it get you into any one of eighty museums and points of interest, but with “express” entry. You skip the ticket AND the entrance line. Oh and you can ride the bus system for free, though the old town is small enough to walk most places.

We asked about validation and YES, we can validate our tickets tomorrow so the three days starts then. Good, and off we went. We wandered across Ponte Vecchio toward the Boboli gardens. The gelato we ate on the way was refreshing, but not the best we’ve had. There is great variation in quality shop to shop. At the Boboli Gardens, we relented and had our Firenze Pass validated and toured the gardens for an hour or two then took a wrong turn in the Palace and were walking the servants and/or guards access halls. The palace is immense, the extend of the part we saw inadvertently was mind boggling. Retracing our steps we turned back into the “proper stairway” for a tour of the Medici Palace. That too is immense and even bigger (you would expect that, no?). We entered the “modern” museum which featured statues and paintings from the 1800’s, modern indeed. From the outside the Medici Palace is not that architecturally interesting (to me), but the gardens and inside frescos, tile, doorways, and artwork is easily worth the price of admission.

We headed home around 5pm, stopping at our local market for some bottled water, paper towels, and a bit of beer for me. The heat of the day was dissipating, local bars were opening and the day was winding down for the locals as it was for us.

We met other couples from California today including a real estate agent from San Diego who is visiting Italy for three weeks with his family. This is their first trip to Italy and it is organized with enough time in Milan, Rome, Florence, and Venice for an in-depth experience.

This feels far too short to me. We were just beginning to feel comfortable in one city, getting to know some of the locals by frequenting some cafes, the POP we’re off to the next destination. On a cruise you can bond with fellow guests.

Tomorrow we will wander the Uffizi when it opens and leave when we get punchy. I love museums, but can only take them in small doses. Otherwise the experience becomes a sea of sameness with no outstanding memories.

No fireworks tonight…. but we hear crooning from a local cub and audience applause. It must be a great show.

Ron

Florence celebrated the festival of San Giovanni yesterday, a city wide holiday with many shops closed and the local bars and dance clubs in full swing by 8pm.

The festival takes place on June 24, a great day to be in Florence!

The festival ended with a 10pm fireworks display. We had ring-side seats for the fireworks which were so dramatic after watching amazed for several minutes we found the “little camera” and recorded to the end. We thought we had seen the finale at least two times before the crescendo. Firenze sure knows how to put on a fireworks display. It was the fireworks of a lifetime.

The video is posted in two parts and it is quite long in its entirety.

Ron

Today is a holiday in Florence. It is celebrating itself. Ellen and I just witnessed what must be the world’s biggest longest and loudest fireworks display. I am not kidding. We have video we will post later that we started a while after the display started thinking we would catch the crescendo. Noooooo, we thought the fireworks had ended twice, but Nooooooo. Toward the end we were both laughing at how extensive the display was.

In the US, the pyrotechnic guys like to show one explosion at a time (usually) so it’s boom ahhhhh, boom ahhhhhh. In this case each “boom” was from eight to twenty individual large booms (individual rockets) combined into a frame. And boy were there frames. Probably one hundred displays of an average of say ten fireworks each. The crescendo was unbelievable, the third time that is. The other two were amazing in their own right.

Amazing. Does Florence know how to host a fireworks display? QED.

We walked through a few Piazzas on the way to the Duomo then headed back to a local market for some shopping ahead of the celebration. We took bread, cheese, proscuitto, sopressata, arugula, fruit, and wine (sangiovese of course) back home with us. We forgot to weigh the fruit ahead of the checkout counter and I did the walk of shame back to the scales to have the price printed for the melon, oranges, banana, carrots, and tomatos, then did the walk of shame back past the checkout line. Not something I want to repeat.

we had dinner in knowing the fireworks were coming, but thought they would be over the river and out of sight. They were on the hilltop right outside our bedroom & living room windows: “right there”.

Alessandra said this was special and not to be missed. The local clubs are full of revelers and the banks of the Arno were teeming with people as we walked home. We did get lost walking home, but found our way without much difficulty.

One clearly American girl said, “I need to get drunk” as she passed us. The two fellows ahead of us remarked and laughed.

Settling in to Florence quite nicely.

Ron