Home Sweet Florence

Yep, I'm so at home here, so comfortable walking these streets, I feel like I could just take off my shoes and walk barefoot like I do at my own home. (And I just might do it if it wasn't 90+ and the dogs didn't use the streets as their own personal toilets.)

Friday night, we wondered around and found a place with delicious salad, covered in cheese, apples and walnuts. Just the thing for two relatively healthy girls who haven't seen many vegetables or fruits over the last few weeks! We sat right on one of the main piazza's and enjoyed the ambiance.

Afterwards we decided to follow our ears and find the music we had been hearing. In the shadow of the Uffizi Museum was a man with a guitar and a woman with a microphone. They really sounded amazing, but perhaps it was just their surroundings. I listened to her sing "Let It Be"and felt completely at peace.

For dessert we of course had to find gelato, and we weren't far from one of my favorite spots, Gelato de Neri. It is a small little gelato place, with delicious gelato! I actually remembered the guy who served us ice cream from four years ago. I guess it must be a good job to hold on to! And he wasn't 300 pounds heavier like I'm certain I would be if I worked at a gelateria for four years!

We are enjoying a few comforts of home in our hotel, mainly the DVD player with available English speaking movies. We watched Love Actually Friday night, what a great movie and a wonderful way to end our first day in Florence!

Yesterday morning we decided to go visit some of the churches. We started with the grandest of all, the Duomo, the center of Florence. The cathedral is grand, beautiful and relatively simple in a matter of speaking. The floors are decorated with beautiful marble designs and a few stained glass windows are scattered about. However, the dome itself is anything but simple. The inside of the dome is an incredible piece of artwork, a giant painting. It is a scene, the bottom of which is hell and then the top of the dome is heaven. The graphics of the the lower portion of the painting certainly make a person want to behave his/her best. You know, a two headed monster creature devouring humans... just stuff like that! :)

At the Duomo you may climb to the top of the dome or to the top of the belltower, sort of at opposite ends of the church. I had climbed the dome twice before and had decided we should climb the belltower to have a more beautiful view of the dome itself. But then, I realized that from inside the church, you are not permitted to go near the underside of the dome, so the only way to see the painting on the inside of the dome is to climb up and get closer to it.

The climb was difficult, but a lot more pleasant than I remembered. When I had climbed it before, the narrow, extremely narrow, spiral staircase was in fact and entry way and an exit way. It was quite nerve-racking. Thankfully, things have changed, and there are two different sets of steps you use. You climb up, and are then deposited to the interior of the dome so that you can admire the mural. Once you have made your way around the interior of the dome, you climb up a steep set of steps on the outside of the dome to the top so that you are rewarded with an incredible view of the city of Florence and the surrounding countryside. I fully recommend the 436 step climb to the top! It is totally worth it!

Besides the Duomo, there are two other main churches that help frame the city of Florence. We went to Santa Maria Croce next. Again, a beautiful, open cathedral with impressive statues, flooring and wooden ceiling. There were also statues and tombs of people such as Galileo and Dante. Wow!

We had seen in a book that one of the top ten best ice cream places in the world was here in Florence. (Another one we actually ate at in Paris, so we are checking off that list!) We went there and enjoyed some delicious ice cream, however, I don't really know how here in a place with so many delicious flavors of gelato, you can actually decide that one place has the best ice cream in the world!

We headed towards the Central Market, which is basically just a giant grocery store, but one of my favorite places here in Florence! When I lived here that summer, my classes were right next to the Central Market, so I would finish class, then go pick out somethings for lunch, go home and sit on my terrace and enjoy fresh foods of Italy. That's what we did yesterday! The downstairs has breads, meats (including cows' faces), and cheeses. The upstairs has vegetables, fruits, nuts and olives. I had a delicious meal of a banana, some thin rosemary bread, pistacchios and pecorino cheese dipped in honey. Yes, honey. It is amazing! I had learned that trick last time I was here, and who could really go wrong with two wonderful treats combined anyway? Cheese AND honey?!

We enjoyed the lunch in our room, in the air conditioning, while watching a movie then ventured out again. We went to the train station and made our reservations for Rome (we learned our lesson), and then did some shopping. We went in a few clothes stores, nothing too special and then went to the street markets! I love the street markets! Everything is really reasonable, of seemingly good quality and the market goes on forever. When I was here a few years ago, I bought two fabulous linen skirts that breathe well and are extremely comfortable. I have an orange one that came in handy at those hot fall football games. Well, I found the same guy, with the same skirts and now have a purple and brown one as well!! I enjoyed buying some small tokens and gifts along the way, including an Italia Soccer shirt.

We refreshed ourselves and then went out in search of a delicious meal. We ate on a different square, again enjoying the people (and carosel) watching. I had some fabulous lasagna! We were serenated by a street performer, of sorts, but one with real talent. She stood off to the corner of the great square with a microphone and an accompaniest on an accordian. It sound ridiculous, but she had one of the most beautiful, operatic voices I have ever heard. When she broke into Ave Maria, my heart just sank into another peaceful state like the night before. How pleasant life is right now! It is just perfect!

Of course we joined the children and rode the carosel as people watched us go round and round surrounded by children. What fun!

We went to a pub near where we eaten the night before because they said they had karaoke on Saturday nights, and well, I love karaoke! Unfortunately the place was practically empty, no singers and near 100 degrees, so needless to say, we did not stay for long!

I have enjoyed reading on the terrace the last couple of mornings. Although it is really just big enough for me to sit and then put my feet up on the other chair, it is so pleasant, greeting the morning with the pigeons around and the sounds of Italy. There is an older man who must live below and has the small garden area below us. Yesterday morning he mopped the area and this morning he was repairing a bicycle. I love this place!

Our hotel does not have breakfast, so we are forced to dine on croissants and other goodies from local bakeries. This morning we picked some up and then sat on the steps of the Duomo to enjoy our breakfast.

We went over the river to the Boboli Gardens. These gardens compare, although not quite as grand, to the gardens at Versailles. They are attached to the Pitti Palace, which I have visited before and once you've seen one palace, they aren't all that interesting. So, we just visited the gardens. They are so huge, so expansive. They provide incredible views of Florence and the surrounding areas. This is a definite for any visitor to the city. There are open, wide pathways, and ways that lead through the shade of old trees. There are fountains and statues scattered about. I think I could live with a garden (and gardener) like this!

We actually spent most of our time at a beautiful area; a small island with flowers, surrounded almost by a moat or small lakes. But we weren't just enjoying the beauty, but watching a poor hedgehog who wandered into the water and could not find his way out, so he was swimming in circles. We were two of about ten people who tried in vain to find a way to rescue him. Finally, after close to an hour, some men who worked there found a way onto the island and were able to scoop him up, but I'm afraid he may not have made it from sheer exhaustion. The men took him into the woods though and hopefully he came back to life after some rest. Not sure, but it was reassuring how many people were eager to rescue this small creature.

I of course met some cats along the way, oddly enough, I believe I remember meeting one of them there before, and he was very happy to accept my attention. He looked well fed and perfectly happy with his life. Who wouldn't be living in such a place!?

We found some much needed refreshments and sat by the palace for a while, just glad to be out of the sun. Then crossed back over the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio (literally Old Bridge) is covered with tiny jewelry shops. These shops, because they are not technically in Florence, do not have to pay taxes, that is why they sell expensive things! The bridge is also famous for being so romantic. Men take their ladies to the bridge, put a lock on the bridge and throw the key into the river, signifying that the key to their heart has been locked up and it belongs to that lady now. I know... awww...

We found a sandwich for lunch, but did not want to eat too much as we are going to a nice dinner tonight at a delicious restaurant! Then decided to come here, to the internet cafe for a bit, because it is air conditioned!

Love to you all! Have a great week!