Florence – Firenze
Day 1. 9th September.
Our first visit to Florence together.
My last visit here was over four decades ago, but still fairly vivid in my memory. It had been part of a short european tour I had been treated to by my Mum in a bid get away from London for a while. You see my lovely dear dad had passed away at the age of 48 just a few months earlier and friends of my parents out of their kindness towards my mum had invited us to spend a few days in Florence with them. So, the plan was in a bid to help ease the overwhelming pain of bereavement & most likely culturally educating me at the same time. We set off just the two of us, firstly Paris (The Louvre) , Rome (The Vatican), Florence (Statue of David) & finally Venice (St Marks Square). These places all extremely beautiful, full of unimaginable beauty, history and religious splendour at every turn. Probably not a good idea for me at least, as I was still very much angry with God. We both returned home exhausted, the pain no less for either of us, I never mentioned that I had not appreciated or enjoyed some of the most beautiful cities in the world, in fear of being thought ungrateful.
This time will be so different, it will be a happy visit, not marred by grief of losing the first man I loved my dear Dad but hand in hand with the second one my dear Husband Ed. Admiring & totally appreciating everything we see, the beauty that it is Florence, even though a little more overcrowded off course these days.
Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell’ Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”
However, we only have two days Friday & Saturday, it will be a tough decision what to choose to see in such a short time. We arrived at our B & B just after 2pm the drive from Desenzano went smoothly and more importantly safely, mainly slow lane driving, in order to dodge all the kamikaze drivers, tail gating each other on the main motorway, oh and we are now officially toll booth experts. We parked up grabbed our small cases and were shown up to our room. A lovely young lady Chiara introduced herself and all the info we needed for our stay. The property and old Italian Villa situated on a hill just outside the city, once a family home, now divided to cater for short staying guests like us, a fourposter bed with frescoes on the ceiling no less. I was rather impressed and thought it deserved more than its 3-star rating. We were roughly a 30–40-minute walk to the centre, so once we had unpacked and refreshed ourselves, we were off eager to see all the delights we knew Florence had to offer us.
Walking.
Rule No.1. Never wear new shoes.
Rule No.2. If wearing new shoes at least wear socks with new shoes.
Now I know you are all thinking what a silly thing I am, but it was Ed’s feet not mine. He had purchased a lovely pair of soft Italian suede shoes on a shopping trip to Verona just the day before and I have to admit if they were mine, I would have been keen to wear them at the first opportunity too. We were well into our 2 kilometre plus walk when the said shoes had started to rub, so we were already past that moment of no return. Instead, the backs were squashed down, pain relieved, onwards we went.
The Medici Palace our first recognisable building on our map in sight.
We knew we were very close to the Duomo, then another 5 minutes there it was. Majestic, Magnificent, Gigantic, our eyes unable to take it all in quick enough. We walked slowly around its perimeter, surrounded by hundreds of others all doing the same, mobile phones in hands of all, taking picture after picture of every conceivable angle.
Now everyone knows you shouldn’t eat right next to most beautiful tourist attractions, so that’s exactly what we did. We just couldn’t help ourselves, we needed to take in the view for as long as possible, but sitting down please. At least Ed could rest those feet now. Pasta & wine what more could you want. Once fed & watered we opted to walk a short distance to the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). This was once the only bridge across the Arno until 1218. It is noted for the shops built along it; building shops on such bridges was once a common practice. Butchers, tanners, and farmers initially occupied the shops now the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. It was busy to say the least, our visit coinciding with not only the normal flocks of foreign visitors us included, but also Italians making the most of the last week of holidays, before all their children returned to school. We decided to do a U turn half way over and take another look tomorrow during the day, perhaps it may be less busy.
A slow walk begun in hope of grabbing a taxi to return to the B & B. Please note you will not find an available taxi to take you anywhere in Florence, unless off course you are staying at the Savoy Hotel. Alas we were not. My Feet were now hurting too. The thought of that walk home this time up hill was not a welcome one. About 10 minutes later Ed confessed he could not walk another inch…I could feel some sort of tantrum brewing. However, there was an angel looking down on us again, this time in the form of rentable assisted electric cycles, you know the ones you have to peddle.
Only problem is I couldn’t even recall the last time I had been on a bike since my chopper in 1972. In desperation we downloaded the apps to our phones. Unlocking the bike was the easy part, riding one in a yellow maxi dress is another story, oh and Ed insisted I went first. Apparently so he could keep an eye on me that I was safe. Personally, I’m sure he must have upped the life insurance before we left. With a deep breath and tucking up my dress as much up as was decent, I pushed off and started a slow peddle trying to keep as straight as possible, not easy I must say. The map we were following had only two options walking or driving, both having its own problems for a cyclist we later found out. You see if you follow the car route it takes you through all the one-way system, probably the safer route but a far longer distance. Off course we opted for the short route which we could have walked. However, we now navigated a couple of one-way streets going the wrong way up them, much to a few Italian car’s frustration, all hand signals off course. I was too busy trying to stay alive that I can’t say I noticed that too much. If you are not a novice on these-part assisted electric cycles, they are a wonderful invention, the faster you peddle the faster the bike can go, I mean fast.
Some how we made it to our road in one piece, not realising you need to engage the right-hand button to assist in a steep climb, we missed our chance to ascend up the hill, and with an abrupt halt we had no option but to dismount and walk the last few minutes to our much-needed bed. Oh and then 42 steps up to our room, we were home for the night, feet throbbing and red, but with great pictures in our heads and on our phones of the Duomo at least…… Four Poster bed at last we both closed our eyes with thoughts of what Florence would reveal tomorrow.
The Uffizi Gallery tickets had been pre-booked for tomorrow thanks to Eds planning this time. 9.15 am – not sure how we will get there in time ! I guess it will be an early start feet willing…..
