5/21/12:
Just saw some news that there was a bombing in Brindisi (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18128170) and a serious earthquake near Bologna (http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/20/world/europe/italy-earthquake/index.html).
Nothing to worry about, we're just fine. I'm pretty sure we felt the earthquake as we were in Florence which is only an hour'ish south of where it hit.
Showing posts with label Florence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florence. Show all posts
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Tombs, towers and stairs
5/19/12:
Yesterday we had a much needed break. Today we squeezed in a glut and hammy workout along with some tombs and churches.
Our hotel breakfast (hotel Romagna) was pretty good. Cereal (always a win), warm milk (not a win), croisssssssants (delish!), turnip-tasting mystery jelly (gross), yogurt (who wants coffee flavor???? ME!), hot coco for the lady, 17 cups of coffee for me :). I would have had 19 but I kept breaking the machine. I guess it just can't handle an American hunger!
We plotted our daily route, trying to take in opening times, distance, proximity to a bagno and a gelateria. So after some sugar calculus and differential equations of the pee-pee order we set out.
First up, the duomo bell tower (Giotto's tower). There was a line to get in but we expected that being Saturday and all. After paying our €6 each we began the ascent. Stairs, stairs, stairs. The stair corridors were so skinny we barely fit ... It was a nightmare with people trying to go both ways. Seriously for €6 / person the church could either hire a traffic conductor or rig up a simple stop-light system any infant would understand. Besides the rush hour traffic on the stairs, the view were awesome. From the top you could see all over Florence. Grand indeed.
Next we jumped in line for the Duomo itself which only took about 4 minutes to get into. I had read a review of the duomo before coming which said something like 'the architects/painters must have run out of steam inside cause it's just a simple, bare hall'. Well I'm here to say that is a fact. The outside is super beautiful with loads of color and decoration. Inside just seemed like a random rural, poor church, albeit a very large one. It was nice to look around but really nothing special compared to all the others we've seen. Moving on.
We stopped for a couple supplies, did some window shopping and eventually found our next destination: The Basilica of Santa Croce. The piazza out front was bustling with shops and people, including a couple tour groups from a royal Caribbean cruise (long way from the water?). Had our first-elato (1st gelato serving) and then went inside the church.
The church cost €6 per person which I thought was a bit steep but it has some cool sights and a bagno so not a bad deal I guess. The tombs of Galileo, Machiavelli, Michaelangelo and a host of others are all in this one place! Along with some choice artwork, a nice cloister and a small museum the church houses tombs of well known Florentines. The inside floor looked more like a cemetery than a house of worship. Besides the big name tombs, the floor has hundreds of tomb markers. Saw some old crosses and art work, meandered around and then sat down to wait out a quick bout of rain.
From here we tried to find a suitable place to eat but came up empty everywhere we went. For a non-pig eater, your options in tourist Italy are pretty limited. We've had about 734 slices of pizza over the last few weeks so we wanted something a bit different. After striking out we did the unthinkable ... We ate at McDonalds. We never eat McDonalds, even jn the US. The McDonalds in Italy are probably the largest and most elegant ones I've ever seen in my life! They are ginormous, sprawling complexes with hundreds of people eating and hanging out. Oh and loads of youngsters smoking right in the doorways to make sure everyone gets their side of cancer causing agents along with their fat-macs and fries. I hate to say it but after 4 months, the fries were delectable!
Had some wine in our room afterwards before going out for dinner. We wanted a quick, small bite to eat so we could grab second-elato (gelato serving #2). The quick part didn't happen. We ordered simple cheese pizzas and then waited over an hour! Anyway, after pizza we had some Rick-Steves recommended gelato from Bermuda-triangle gelato. Not the best gelato by far. In fact, Rick Steves' guide book said Florence is Italy's gelato Capitol as in it has the best gelato. This is false. Florence had some of the worst gelato we've had. After 2 servings of gelato per day, everyday, we're something of a gelato expert. The best gelato in Italy has been hands down in Bologna.
Tomorrow we have our first Italian tour! We're taking a tour to a couple hill towns and them some wine tasting!!!
SIDE NOTE: we saw a florentine garbage truck today wrestle with a dumpster for about 10 minutes. The process to extract the garbage from the dumpster was like something out of a clown show. Grappling hooks, cigarettes, cranes and pulleys. This place is in desperate need of an efficiency expert!
Pics:
1) View of Florence from the tower.
2) Happy couple on top of the tower.
3) Carolyn in the cloister of Santa Croce.
4) Carolyn in front of Giotto's tower).
5) inside the tower.
6) Michealangelo's tomb.
7) This is a tomb in the floor of Santa Croce. This is what the whole church looked like.
8) Found this shirt in a store. Anyone ever hear of La Hola, CA????
9) Inside of the Duomo.
Yesterday we had a much needed break. Today we squeezed in a glut and hammy workout along with some tombs and churches.
Our hotel breakfast (hotel Romagna) was pretty good. Cereal (always a win), warm milk (not a win), croisssssssants (delish!), turnip-tasting mystery jelly (gross), yogurt (who wants coffee flavor???? ME!), hot coco for the lady, 17 cups of coffee for me :). I would have had 19 but I kept breaking the machine. I guess it just can't handle an American hunger!
We plotted our daily route, trying to take in opening times, distance, proximity to a bagno and a gelateria. So after some sugar calculus and differential equations of the pee-pee order we set out.
First up, the duomo bell tower (Giotto's tower). There was a line to get in but we expected that being Saturday and all. After paying our €6 each we began the ascent. Stairs, stairs, stairs. The stair corridors were so skinny we barely fit ... It was a nightmare with people trying to go both ways. Seriously for €6 / person the church could either hire a traffic conductor or rig up a simple stop-light system any infant would understand. Besides the rush hour traffic on the stairs, the view were awesome. From the top you could see all over Florence. Grand indeed.
Next we jumped in line for the Duomo itself which only took about 4 minutes to get into. I had read a review of the duomo before coming which said something like 'the architects/painters must have run out of steam inside cause it's just a simple, bare hall'. Well I'm here to say that is a fact. The outside is super beautiful with loads of color and decoration. Inside just seemed like a random rural, poor church, albeit a very large one. It was nice to look around but really nothing special compared to all the others we've seen. Moving on.
We stopped for a couple supplies, did some window shopping and eventually found our next destination: The Basilica of Santa Croce. The piazza out front was bustling with shops and people, including a couple tour groups from a royal Caribbean cruise (long way from the water?). Had our first-elato (1st gelato serving) and then went inside the church.
The church cost €6 per person which I thought was a bit steep but it has some cool sights and a bagno so not a bad deal I guess. The tombs of Galileo, Machiavelli, Michaelangelo and a host of others are all in this one place! Along with some choice artwork, a nice cloister and a small museum the church houses tombs of well known Florentines. The inside floor looked more like a cemetery than a house of worship. Besides the big name tombs, the floor has hundreds of tomb markers. Saw some old crosses and art work, meandered around and then sat down to wait out a quick bout of rain.
From here we tried to find a suitable place to eat but came up empty everywhere we went. For a non-pig eater, your options in tourist Italy are pretty limited. We've had about 734 slices of pizza over the last few weeks so we wanted something a bit different. After striking out we did the unthinkable ... We ate at McDonalds. We never eat McDonalds, even jn the US. The McDonalds in Italy are probably the largest and most elegant ones I've ever seen in my life! They are ginormous, sprawling complexes with hundreds of people eating and hanging out. Oh and loads of youngsters smoking right in the doorways to make sure everyone gets their side of cancer causing agents along with their fat-macs and fries. I hate to say it but after 4 months, the fries were delectable!
Had some wine in our room afterwards before going out for dinner. We wanted a quick, small bite to eat so we could grab second-elato (gelato serving #2). The quick part didn't happen. We ordered simple cheese pizzas and then waited over an hour! Anyway, after pizza we had some Rick-Steves recommended gelato from Bermuda-triangle gelato. Not the best gelato by far. In fact, Rick Steves' guide book said Florence is Italy's gelato Capitol as in it has the best gelato. This is false. Florence had some of the worst gelato we've had. After 2 servings of gelato per day, everyday, we're something of a gelato expert. The best gelato in Italy has been hands down in Bologna.
Tomorrow we have our first Italian tour! We're taking a tour to a couple hill towns and them some wine tasting!!!
SIDE NOTE: we saw a florentine garbage truck today wrestle with a dumpster for about 10 minutes. The process to extract the garbage from the dumpster was like something out of a clown show. Grappling hooks, cigarettes, cranes and pulleys. This place is in desperate need of an efficiency expert!
Pics:
1) View of Florence from the tower.
2) Happy couple on top of the tower.
3) Carolyn in the cloister of Santa Croce.
4) Carolyn in front of Giotto's tower).
5) inside the tower.
6) Michealangelo's tomb.
7) This is a tomb in the floor of Santa Croce. This is what the whole church looked like.
8) Found this shirt in a store. Anyone ever hear of La Hola, CA????
9) Inside of the Duomo.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Sick day
Today we took half a sick day, slept through breakfast and had a slow morning. We had plenty of slow days in SEA but few in Italy because there is always so much to see we are squeezing in a lot of cities. We feel like we are wasting this opportunity if our day isn't action packed but we finally realized that we needed a break. I know people say you can't complain when you are on vacation but I think when you travel for this long it's not considered a vacation. Are we clocking into a boss everyday no, but we still have to-do lists, we are packing and traveling every two-three days and then running around trying to see every sight possible, it's taxing on the body.
After our sleep in, we ate and headed to the Uffizi Gallery since our guidebook said we'd been in line for hours if we didn't make reservations and it was at the top of Michael's list of sights. 45 minutes later we were standing amongst the best collection of Italian Renaissance art. I'm no art buff but it was cool to see how art changed through time from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional and the phases in between. Most paintings we've seen here have been of The Virgin Mary but today we saw painting of Venus which was nice change. Especially since Mary never looks happy, Venus on the other hand always has a coy smile depending on how she is being depicted.
From there it was off to the Plazzo Vecchio where there is a nice replica of Michelango's David which was enough for us to skip the real deal. Then to the Pontes Vecchio which is a bridge that was turned into a mall, full of gold jewelry which means its a happening place for these window shop loving Italians! We crossed the bridge and walked along the river watching the crew teams practice and headed to dinner. Finished off the night with gelato and a stroll around town.
Pics:
- Ponte Vecchio - you can see the shops and the secret passage way (near right) that lead from their home to another Palace.
- Me on the Ponte Vecchio
- David
After our sleep in, we ate and headed to the Uffizi Gallery since our guidebook said we'd been in line for hours if we didn't make reservations and it was at the top of Michael's list of sights. 45 minutes later we were standing amongst the best collection of Italian Renaissance art. I'm no art buff but it was cool to see how art changed through time from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional and the phases in between. Most paintings we've seen here have been of The Virgin Mary but today we saw painting of Venus which was nice change. Especially since Mary never looks happy, Venus on the other hand always has a coy smile depending on how she is being depicted.
From there it was off to the Plazzo Vecchio where there is a nice replica of Michelango's David which was enough for us to skip the real deal. Then to the Pontes Vecchio which is a bridge that was turned into a mall, full of gold jewelry which means its a happening place for these window shop loving Italians! We crossed the bridge and walked along the river watching the crew teams practice and headed to dinner. Finished off the night with gelato and a stroll around town.
Pics:
- Ponte Vecchio - you can see the shops and the secret passage way (near right) that lead from their home to another Palace.
- Me on the Ponte Vecchio
- David
Friday, May 18, 2012
Kamikaze tourism
5/17/12:
Today's timeline:
0830: Wake up (Carolyn).
0855: Carolyn tries to wake Michael up.
0900: Carolyn tries again to get Michael up.
0901: Michael wonders to himself why he drank 1/2 a liter of wine after having 5 pre-dinner beers
0903: Carolyn threatens Michael with bodily harm and to take away all his ketchup privileges if he doesn't get up.
(30 seconds later): Michael is brushing his teeth.
1000: Our host picks us up from our fabulous apartment to take us to the train station.
1020: Train departs La Spezia for Pisa.
1200: Arrive Pisa.
1206: Drop bags off at storage.
1210: Begin 'Pisa walking tour'.
1314: See the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
1530: Return to train station.
1554: Depart Pisa for Florence.
1700: Arrive Florence.
1711: Get map from Tourist Info point.
1725: Check in to our hotel (hotel Romagna).
1802: Go to dinner.
1934: Leave dinner.
2000: See Duomo for first time.
2034: Have 2nd-Gelato.
2100: Return to hotel.
2101: Exhausted.
Eventful day fo sho! Our side trip to Pisa was a last minute idea and really worked out great! We walked around and saw some great sights and of course saw the leaning tower. What a place. The tower is in an area called the 'Field of Miracles' and is surrounded by a fabulous duomo, baptistery, museum, cemetery, etc etc etc. The tower itself is pretty impressive but we didn't think it was worth the €15 fee / person to climb to the top. So we took about 200 pictures and lounged on the wonderful grass field (field of miracles). Looked at some souvenirs and eventually made our way into the Duomo. It was amazing. Not St Peters basilica amazing but grand none the less. Saw the body of St Raminieri who has a crazy cool silver face mask. A bone from another random saint and the tomb of Henry VII, holy roman emperor and the lamp that inspired Galileo! Not a bad day at all.
By the time we got to Florence we were wiped out. We grabbed a bite to eat and went to see the Duomo since its late and that means the tourist hoards are all gone.
Tomorrow we'll blitz through the big sights and figure out our next couple days.
Pics:
1) Carolyn framing the tower
2) Me holding the tower up.
3) Carolyn and the tower.
4) Florence - Duomo.
5) Us and the Pisa-Duomo.
6) Me and the skeleton key!
7) Geovanni's pulpit - Pisa-duomo.
8) St Ranieri.
Today's timeline:
0830: Wake up (Carolyn).
0855: Carolyn tries to wake Michael up.
0900: Carolyn tries again to get Michael up.
0901: Michael wonders to himself why he drank 1/2 a liter of wine after having 5 pre-dinner beers
0903: Carolyn threatens Michael with bodily harm and to take away all his ketchup privileges if he doesn't get up.
(30 seconds later): Michael is brushing his teeth.
1000: Our host picks us up from our fabulous apartment to take us to the train station.
1020: Train departs La Spezia for Pisa.
1200: Arrive Pisa.
1206: Drop bags off at storage.
1210: Begin 'Pisa walking tour'.
1314: See the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
1530: Return to train station.
1554: Depart Pisa for Florence.
1700: Arrive Florence.
1711: Get map from Tourist Info point.
1725: Check in to our hotel (hotel Romagna).
1802: Go to dinner.
1934: Leave dinner.
2000: See Duomo for first time.
2034: Have 2nd-Gelato.
2100: Return to hotel.
2101: Exhausted.
Eventful day fo sho! Our side trip to Pisa was a last minute idea and really worked out great! We walked around and saw some great sights and of course saw the leaning tower. What a place. The tower is in an area called the 'Field of Miracles' and is surrounded by a fabulous duomo, baptistery, museum, cemetery, etc etc etc. The tower itself is pretty impressive but we didn't think it was worth the €15 fee / person to climb to the top. So we took about 200 pictures and lounged on the wonderful grass field (field of miracles). Looked at some souvenirs and eventually made our way into the Duomo. It was amazing. Not St Peters basilica amazing but grand none the less. Saw the body of St Raminieri who has a crazy cool silver face mask. A bone from another random saint and the tomb of Henry VII, holy roman emperor and the lamp that inspired Galileo! Not a bad day at all.
By the time we got to Florence we were wiped out. We grabbed a bite to eat and went to see the Duomo since its late and that means the tourist hoards are all gone.
Tomorrow we'll blitz through the big sights and figure out our next couple days.
Pics:
1) Carolyn framing the tower
2) Me holding the tower up.
3) Carolyn and the tower.
4) Florence - Duomo.
5) Us and the Pisa-Duomo.
6) Me and the skeleton key!
7) Geovanni's pulpit - Pisa-duomo.
8) St Ranieri.
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