FLORENCE 2017

FLORENCE. ITALY.

Monday may 8.

We farewelled our Slovenian hosts Mojca and Wojka who were so good to us and hope to see them in Australia as planned.

The trip to Florence was about five hours with a stop, and Glenn only frightened me once! The motorway was easy and the speed limit was 130 so the kms flew quickly under our wheels. Trucks can only use the slow lane so traffic flows swiftly and safely without the worry of trucks pulling out in front, and traffic weaving in and out. It rained most of the way and the skies were heavy so the vista was limited.

We arrived in Florence with the help of the wonderful Google Maps and returned our rental car unblemished..... always a relief!! Then we went by taxi to our accommodation; the only place not a house exchange. We waited for almost an hour for the agent to bring the keys which was annoying, especially as he wouldn't answer his phone and we were wondering if he was coming at all!

At last, full of apologies, he arrived and let us in. The unit is small but has all we need, including a very lovely lamp and a tiny balcony where we could hang our washing, with a view over terra-cotta rooftops.

We took his advice and ate a superb meal at a nearby restaurant. We had seafood, beef cheek, chocolate cake and creme brulee with wine and liqueur. Delicioso! (The photo on the right not the left which shows rabbits for sale in a butcher shop.)

 

Tuesday May 9

Our first full day in Florence so we started with a supermarket run and a forage for the right adaptor for our power board. Eventually Glenn deciphered the washing machine instructions, we had brunch and then started to plan our week in Florence.

We walked the 30 minutes to Piazza del Duomo and made our way through the crowds to the entrance to the Florence Cathedral, the city's most iconic landmark which took almost 150 years to complete.The exterior is a stunning construction a with pink, white and green marble facade, capped by Filippo Brunelleschi's red-tiled dome. Together with the graceful campanile, it dominates the medieval cityscape.

But, I was disappointed with the interior which has now been stripped of all art-work not part of the building's structure, and somehow it lacked soul. The interior is also unexpectedly secular, due in part to two immense frescos of equestrian statues portraying mercenaries, a reflection of the sizeable chunk of the cathedral not paid for by the church!

 

We walked home and had a tasty beef stew which I had prepared before we left.

We had a game of cards and then researched the other city highlights we wanted to see.

Wednesday May 10

After yoghurt and strawberries for breakfast, we walked the half hour down the hill to Galleria Dell'Accademia .

 

We queued for an hour and a half before entering, entertained by a man on a piano-accordion and a talented artist painting black and white scenes of the cathedral. We spent the next three hours with our jaws dropped, admiring the treasures of Florence.

The stand-out was Michelangelo's David, beautifully situated under a glass dome with sunshine pouring down from above. The subtle detail of the sinewy arms, the leg muscles and the change in facial expression as you move around the sculpture, creates amazing realism. The sculpture weighs six tonnes, an engineering feat by Michelangelo, who cleverly channelled the immense weight down the right leg and the small pillar behind it, so that no other support was necessary.

 

 

Adjacent rooms held Gothic religious paintings, from the 13th-14th. centuries, largely altarpieces by Andrea Orcagna, Taddeo Gaddi, Domenico Ghirlanadaio, Filippino Lippi and Sandro Botticelli.

The tapestry below was an historically important piece which decorated the front of the main altar in Santa Maria Noretta church in Florence. It bears the name of Jacopo Cambi, the embroiderer who stitched it. It is one of the highest quality examples of Florentine embroidery highly prized in the 1300's. How it survived until now beggars belief!

 

 

 

 After leaving the Galleria Dell'Accademia we treated ourselves to a spritz (yet again) and a well-earned sit down.

  

From there we walked to the central station to buy tickets for the overnight sleeper train to Graz next Monday and happily found it considerably cheaper then the on-line price!! (We love these little victories)!!

We also rang Matteo, our agent, who thankfully agreed to a late check-out, as our train leaves Florence at 9.49pm.

Thursday May 11. Uffizi Gallery.

We hadn't reserved tickets and were prepared for the possible 4 hour queue, but we're in in fifteen minutes.

We walked up the steps into the gallery where we had great views of the Ponte Di Vecchio and the river Arno below us.

 

 

 

The Uffizi Gallery is home to the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance Art, bequeathed to the city by the Medici family in 1743, on condition that it never leave Florence. The u-shaped gallery was originally government offices built between 1560 and 1580, and displays in chronological order the gamut of art history from Ancient Greek sculpture to 18th century Venetian paintings, but the core is the Renaissance collection.

The first corridor featured 13th-century Sienese alter pieces by Cimabue and Giotto and then the 14th-century Annunciazione bySimone Martini.

 

La Tribuna

The Medici clan stashed away their most precious masterpieces in this exquisite octagonal-shaped treasure trove...a small collection of classical statues and paintings adorn its wall, upholstered in crimson silk, and 600 mother-of-pearl shells painted with Crimson varnish encrust the domed ceiling.

After reaching saturation point, we crawled home to our little haven and gratefully collapsed into our chairs!!

 

Friday May 12.

Today we went to the heart of Florence's university area to Chiesa Di San Marco and the 15th-century Dominican monastery where both gifted painter Fra' Angelico, ( made a saint by Pope Paul 11 in 1984), and sharp-tongued Savonarola piously served God. It was from here, after Savonarola eventually became prior, that he fanatically railed against greed, luxury and the corruption of the clergy. 

From the cloister we walked into the Pilgrims' Hospital where we saw Fra' Angelico's realistic portrayal of perspective and nature in the 'Deposition of Christ', and at the top of the stairs, his most famous work, 'Annunciation'. 

 

We strolled around the 44 monastic cells, decorated with devotional frescoes by Fra' Angelico and his fellow friars, including the spartan, undecorated rooms where Savonarola lived.

 

 

We were hurried out by an attendant locking up behind us because we hadn't realised closing time was 2pm!

The next item on our list was the shopping for Glenn's belated birthday present, the planned Italian leather wallet. We talked to a lot of people and ended up at the Papini family, leather shop, supposedly the best with an established reputation to uphold! ( hopefully he won't leave this one on the bumper-bar of the car!)

 

We sat in Piazza della'Republica and had a cold beer while the crowd surged past endlessly. I can't imagine what peak season must be like!

On our way home we bought the makings of dinner, supplemented with some 'tip-pruned' fresh herbs from a generous roadside garden!

Saturday May 13

Washing day.

A slow day with a walk down to the local stadium where there was great excitement due to a big soccer match between Florence and a Roman team. There was a lot of security and the bars were full of people having a beer before entering the stadium.

We heard the next day from the man at our preferred watering hole that Florence had won 3-2.

On the walk back we bought yummy, sweet pastry treats to eat after dinner.

Sunday May 14.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. We had lovely, long phone calls from our children and grandchildren and managed to ring Glenn's mum, Laurel as well, which made our day.

Our three weeks on the go is starting to tell so we had another slow day. 

 

We walked down to the Botanical Garden of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Florence and smelt our way around the roses. It was interesting to see the way the garden was arranged into plant areas such as poisonous, medicinal, oriental, ferns, aquatic etc. The garden is a unique, scientific collection with many rare plants.  It was a quiet green haven not far from the bustle San Marco Square, hidden behind high stone walls.

We made our way home stopping at our local bar for a couple of cool ales. 

 

Monday May 15.

Our last day in Florence.

We went for a long walk around our local area and ate ice-cream sitting by a waterway, watching the ducks.

 

 Then came time to pack and give our little flat a clean before the taxi came at 8pm to take us to the railway station. We ate our packed sandwiches for dinner while watching the departure board for our train details. Eventually we boarded the train about 10 pm, found our couchette, shared with three other people, and settled down for a restless night.