29/11 Relaxing wander

Tuesday November 29 last day in Florence

J went to price parcel prices - $25 surface mail for 2 kg and it cannot be insured. Air mail is double that. As usual, we sneaked out just after 10. Loop around the south bank then straight to the gelataria – closed until noon L

We had spotted a green-topped church building of some size from the Piazza Michelangelo and were curious what it might be. Didn’t correspond to anything on the map. With nothing else to do we wandered off in the generally northerly direction. Watched teenagers playing soccer in a park while the girls ran laps round the outside (and not a trailer park in sight!). Wandered on until we came across a large arch that would have been a gate in the old city wall. Nearby was a map which showed what we then realised was the Jewish synagogue. It was highly secured and had an entrance fee so we didn’t go in.

On the way back we discovered yet another very large church. We had a look around until they closed for lunch. Cheeseburgers and cappuccinos then raided the gelataria for double scoops. Early back home where we skyped various kids, getting bank affairs checked and catching up with Warren.

Beginning to wonder about whether the ship will get into Venice?

Spotted this round building from other side of river.  Turns out it is the library.

Located the front doors, but no visitors allowed.  Each room is for study only.  What is this?  Each library I find I am not allowed to go in.

Such nice door knockers.  These are large as well, at least 30cm tall.

These next 2 are human sculptures - as if there is not enough sculpture to see in this city.

The small bus

The miniature bus

Such beautiful houses, even has decorated gutter supports and drainpipe joiners.

Interesting corner building, lovely marble drinking fountain

Art everywhere

Arty shot

Arty fish display

Sign art, or a joke?

And another one ....

Then we came across this gallery, that sold stickers and badges with the 'arty street signs' on them.  He also did very interesting things with toilets - notice the large red lips.

28/11 Discovery stroll of glorious Florence

Monday 28 November  Florence 3 – No museums today .....

We have gradually noticed that the cars here (actually the motorists I suppose) are much quieter than we are used to. For a start there are fewer cars, but there is nowhere near the usual amount of peremptory “clear the road I'm coming” hooting, or the mindless “what the flip is holding us all up?” blaring or the retaliatory “where did you get your licence you asshole?” blasts. Combined with the willingness to allow pedestrian to cross at zebra crossings, this makes for one of the most mature and peaceful pedestrian environments we have ever seen.

People are funny. Have you ever noticed that in the early cowboy movies they used to increase the speed of their bullets and extend the range of the guns by “throwing” the gun at the target as they fired? And while we are there, why did the Indians always watch the stagecoach go past then chase it? Have you ever watched people taking photos with phones and cameras that have viewfinders on the back? Noticed how they extend their arms closer to the subject, or raise them high in the air? Yes I can see sometimes how that might be useful, but most of the time it just looks weird.

We started the day buying our train tickets for 2 days time. Cant believe it is all happening so fast. Hell we just cruised 3 continents . . . Twice!! Now we are crossing the Atlantic and the Equator and going to Rio!!

Next stop we wandered round Santa Maria del Fiore, being deeply impressed by the construction of the pillars, arches and domes, which we attended part of a lecture about on the ship. It is quite amazing how cleverly they managed to stop the whole thing from exploding outwards. The whole front half was cordoned off and probably for that reason it felt less of a spiritual place than most of the others. It was built over about 130 years back in the 1300s and has a beautiful exterior of patterned white, pink and green marble.

There are 3 sets of doors on the Baptistry, with these being the most famous.  On seeing them Michelangelo said "These doors should be on the gates to paradise."

From there we tried to get into the Basilica de Santa Croce but declined because, like several others, they have introduced fees for visitors in the last year or so. The front façade was highly decorated but the other sides were of plain stone.

After general wandering around, enjoying the increasingly warm weather, we found a delightful little gelataria which sold the most exquisite ice cream at half the price of the others. This took us over the bridge South of the Arno and we climbed the hill leading to the Piazzale Michelangelo. This was the square outside the city wall, looking north over the city and the valley, with the large bronze copy of the David statue, where I (Chris) had freecamped in 1979. We spent some time there, taking panoramic pictures and shots of my death-defying lotus teetering on a wall with a sheer 50’ drop at the back.

David surrounded by 'Night & Day' & 'Dawn & Dusk'

The Florence Lotus

This kind of fits, ship,case, destination.

There was nothing better to do so we wandered down the hill and along the river until we found a little back street shop catering mainly for locals, where we bought a couple of thick pizza bread blocks covered in delicious SDT and salami.

Autumn leaves, so pretty.

Thus fortified, we climbed the hill again and pottered about until sunset, which was interesting if not riveting. The air had been a bit hazy all day. We sauntered back down the hill again and, unbelievably coincidentally, happened to pass by the same gelataria!!! Well, J said it was an accident. We were still dealing with those as we reached the hostel.

We both really enjoyed today,  having taken it more laid back after a few days of slaving round galleries. We are not much fussed about paying and queuing to see the original David in a museum, having seen two copies out in the open. There is even another bronze David by Donatello, a contemporary of Michelangelo. This work was apparently the first freestanding nude since Roman times and depicts David in boots and a girly bonnet, carrying a sword. The kindest comment is that it is “narcissistic” – it was also described as a “transvestite’s and fetishist’s dream of alluring ambiguity”. Meooow.

                                           How beautiful, on the corner of a building.

Stacks and stacks of books.  Wonder if he can ever find the one he wants.

How's this for a mini car.

Plugged in for power.

This is the way we park the cars ...... notice the 2 on hoists.

27/11 Paintings, flag throwing and marathons

Sunday 27 November Florence 2

The supermarkets here are weird in the extreme. If you were looking for a Big W type frontage you would never find one. What you get is a 5m wide single shop frontage with some grocery type items visible inside. If you accept the clue and wander in, you will find that the shop gradually unfolds like a series of short corridors, none of which ever open out into a room. Must make surveillance damn difficult.  We  haven’t been out into the suburbs, where conventional supermarkets no doubt exist, but the mini-maze is all we have found here in the inner city.

Last night we wandered into a square where one corner was taken up by a few dozen 2 man tents, each raised on a wooden pallet. A handpainted sign revealed that this was the Florentine equivalent of Occupy Wall Street. Nearby about 20 people were sitting in a square circle, engaged in earnest discussion. I imagined them endlessly preparing strongly worded declarations and memoranda, rather like Monty Python’s Popular Liberation Front of Judea. There were no police present and they seemed to be equally harmless and irrelevant. You have to give them credit for staying out in the cold because we were very glad to be rugged up out there.

We had noticed clumps of police, including one small gathering of some special squad, in various locations around Rome, and it seemed that they were watching some groups or locations, but there were no signs of demonstrations or unrest relating to the dissatisfaction with the budget cuts and benefit reductions that are being applied all along the Mediterranean coast because of the latest financial crisis. Good that Australia is still awash with money but sad that such huge amounts are being squandered on empty symbolic gestures to appease a handful of hysterical Greens and opportunistic independents who suddenly found themselves on the cusp of being Relevant.

We headed off this morning at 10 but got sidetracked by activity along the edge of the nearby square. A section along the edge was roped off as though for an event track passing through and then a bunch of drummers and flagthrowers appeared, decked out in Mediaeval Tuscan finery. There was a lot of quite intricate and skilful flag twirling and heaving up into the air and every now and then a disabled athlete would race along the track on a lying down cycle.  We hung around in anticipation that they were about to hurl the flags between the drummers but it wasn’t happening so we left.

This was tough going slightly uphill

Saw this team and chased through streets to get pic

not sure who they are or where they are going, but they were off ..

Tracked back to where I left Chris to find this team ... doing it...

Flag twisting, twirling and tossing all to the beat of the drums.

That was when the Florence Marathon raced through the square. All but one of the first half dozen looked like Ethiopians and were flying along at great pace so the field must have been competitive. We crossed the Ponte Vecchia and they were still coming in a steady stream. There was also a Fun Run on a separate parallel track. Very well attended and a range of fascinating costumes, including a Berlusconi mask surrounded by busty, wigged men in Gstrings playing Carla Bruni.

We found the church that was supposed to have been where Michelangelo first learned to paint ceiling frescoes at the age of 15, and were admiring the frescoes in the side chapel next to the main altar when the noon mass started. We weren’t in position to see the people filing in so we made a low profile departure while the priest was getting into his rhythm. Turned out to be the wrong Santa Maria anyway.  But it was where Michelangelo’s teacher painted the frescoes.

Next stop was the Pitti palace, home of the Medici family – not the nicest of people but well connected and one of them did become a Pope. Quite expensive at E13 each for the basic entry – the full package including the Bobboli Gardens was another E10. Quite quickly we both succumbed to Gallery Gout – frozen shoulder from carrying a bag, stiff neck from looking upwards and general fatigue from standing up. We took time out on a bench we eventually found – all the beautiful seats were roped off – and checked our guide book against the gallery map. Thus reinforced and redirected, we headed off again and found all the best artworks that were mentioned in the Lonely Planet. No blockbusters but many serious works by some major artists including Rubens, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, van Dyck etc. The Palace itself was an eye-opener and the furniture seemed to be just as it was when the last Medici member died and left the lot to the people of Tuscany. Sumptuous wallpapers over 200 years old, original carpets and drapes.  Many of the rooms had more than 1 enormous chandelier. Very grand furnishings. They certainly were far from short of a crust.

Front of Palace

Wing inside courtyard - no photos inside

We circumvented the (not very good) bagpipe player outside and noticed he was bereft of tartan, although he was playing a highland song. Maybe the instrument has Italian background? The marathon tailenders were still coming through and a sad lot they were. Must be very hard on the feet running constantly over pretty rough cobblestones. We veered off to the station, intending to buy the remaining tickets to Venice but it was very busy and we thought we would scan the net first and see what was available. We then passed the real Santa Maria but found they now charged an admission price and decided it wasn’t that important. Tomorrow most of the galleries are closed so we will have to try something else. (Churches *wink*)

Loved this waiters moustache

Another happy merry go round - always busy, even at night.  Horses have plumes of feathers on their heads

Segway - an easy way to tour. Seem to be available in every city

Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

26/11 Wee willy winkies

Saturday 26 November – Florence Day 1

Had an early night and a huge sleep. Suddenly realised it was almost 10am and they have a lockout from 10-2pm. This is the first time we have come across this strange arrangement but it is quite common in hostels. We had a hasty DIY brekky of cheese and salami sandwiches (come back Franco) and sneaked out at 10.15. The Uffizi gallery is barely 100m away so we lost no time in getting in there. Apparently 3 hour queues are not uncommon in season but we had barely 10 minutes to wait. Maybe we have been lucky but the weather here has been excellent. Clear skies, warm sunshine and no wind. Much better than dealing with the intense heat and impossible crowding here in the summer season.

By noon we were numbed with galleries. There were a lot of benches scattered around and I was much happier sitting watching the passing parade (particularly Americans). The first thing I noticed was how many people walked along, reading the labels to see who painted/sculpted the works, without looking up at the artworks themselves. I was doing much the same myself. There was one woman of about 60, wearing headphones attached to an audio guide in her husband’s bag, who wandered around, apparently totally oblivious to her complete exposure below the waist. She was wearing stockings (ok call them leggings) but her top barely reached her hip bones and the rest was just out there on display. What WAS she thinking? He seemed absorbed in some world of his own.

On the subject of exposure, you can’t help suffering a serious penis overdose. They are EVERYWHERE – even some of the Italian noses looked like penises. OK they were all discreetly undersized but unless you are a nudist it gets to you after a while. What the hell . . lets go there anyway . . it looks distinctly inappropriate to have these hulking muscular bodies with little boys’ weewees. Surely Moses and St Paul deserve the benefit of the doubt and could reasonably have been depicted with schlongs appropriate to their ecclesiastical standing? As for (2”) David, I am convinced that Goliath died of apoplectic laughter and that any damage David did with his slingshot was incidental.

Having thus decimated the readership of our humble blog, I may as well finish off with the representation of the female bits. There were breasts aplenty, although far fewer than you would expect.  As for the nether bits – well there weren’t any. South of the navel it was all Terra Nullius – smooth skin like a 1950’s doll.

As for the artworks, for my money the most impressive items were the sculptures outside. A copy of Michelangelo’s David, Perseus with the head of Medusa by Cellini, and the Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna.

David

 Perseus

Random statues

 Inside, I have always liked Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, now known as Venus on a Seashell. J liked his The Allegory of Spring. There were a few more recent works by lesser 18^th century artists that attracted us because of the more realistic, less static, impact. We also liked Michelangelo’s The Holy Family (which has the most amazing frame) and Caravaggio’s Head of Medusa (both circular paintings). There was a remarkable stoicism evident in the demeanour of the various saints suffering torture in many of the works, and a general serenity in the large number of works about the Crucifixion. Some of the subject matter was quite gruesome, like the Slaughter of the Innocents, the pair of statues (before and after) of some troll-like figure being skinned alive by Apollo after losing a music contest(!!!) and my favourite, a very realistic (one would guess) representation of two women decapitating an Assyrian sleaze who had tried to seduce one of them.

After a bit of a walk across the Ponte Vecchio (bridge over the Arno river) we were happy to be allowed back into our room (although the hostel was still locked at 2.30). It was very noticeable that the sun never gets overhead up here and at this time if the year it seems to be in your eyes all day long.  We rugged up against the cold at about 5 and had another longer walk.

This is a lovely city to stroll in.  Lots of narrow streets with little or no traffic allowed.  They have mini sized electric buses, rubbish trucks and the occasional horse and buggy.  I have enjoyed the look and feel of the shops, some modern, some old fashioned, some tiny shops below street level.  As it is getting close to Christmas, some are all decked out with Christmas displays and wares and look magical. After dark, which is about 5pm, the fairy lights in the streets come on and it makes these lovely streets sparkle.

I love buildings/architecture and they have some quite distinctive ones here.  Many churches, palazzo and just solid grand buildings.  The tower on the Palazzo Vecchio is like nothing I have ever seen before.  

Duke Cosimo de Medici

 Such an amazing amount of history is all around.

 Can’t wait till tomorrow to go and discover some more.

               

25/11 On a train again ...

Friday 25 November Train to Florence

C Woke at midnight – fever and ill. Doubtful about tomorrow and wondering about hospital. Eventually fell in frozen sleep and woke feeling not too bad. Took slow walk to station – as usual they don’t tell you the platform until 15 minutes before departure which then leaves a frantic dash to get to the train and walk down to the right carriage. This could easily be over 500m. Luckily we had it easier than that this time. 3.5 hours pleasant ride through the rolling green countryside, olive trees and grapevines, red tiled houses, dozens of looong tunnels and the occasional fortress/castle on top of a hill. J found our way to the hostel – gotta love google maps.

We are in a very old building, and there is a constant sound of rushing wind, or is it growling ghost???    No wind outside, so a little puzzled. Maybe movie in room next door? hmmm no, no tv's here.         After about 2 hours I realised that it is the little fridge. lolololololol                                       Well, I think it is the fridge ..........

We have had great rooms here and in Rome with central heating and heated floors at night.

The frieze in our bathroom ceiling

From our window looking down Via Della Condotta

Some of Chris' new fridge magnets - and we have only just begun *sigh*