Florence
September 13th, 2022 (G)
We arrived at the train station in Florence and were admittedly unimpressed by what initially greeted us. However, experience has taught us that it is fairly common for the area immediately surrounding the European train stations to seem a bit grungy when the rest of the city is vivacious and beautiful. So it was with Florence.
After a few moments of confusion and a gesturing conversation made with two Italian bus employees at the station. I was able to work out with their assistance the correct location for our bus. T grabbed her things and we hopped on the next bus. The route the bus followed was different from what we had expected (due to construction) but still moved us much closer to the residential neighborhood where we had booked a small apartment to stay.
Our little apartment was situated at the top of a 3 story building and was essentially an attic space converted. The sloped ceilings made moving around the space a little entertaining though still very manageable.
After being warmly welcomed by our host, an older Italian woman, we sat with her for a while to ask questions and receive her advice on what to do and where to go both in Florence and in our future visit to Siena and the surrounding countryside. She was very warm and happily provided us with maps and recommendations.
We spent most of that evening scheming for the following day though I did make a quick run out to a nearby grocery store to purchase potatoes, veggies, and cheese. We were lucky, we had a small kitchenette with a pantry tucked beneath the slope of the ceiling that still held enough spices, oils, and vinegars left in to allow me to create an acceptable type of goulash for dinner.
September 14th, 2022
We enjoyed a pleasant breakfast in the back garden of our building then set off, well-informed by our host, to see as much of Florence as we could in one day.
After a short bus ride, we arrived at Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte an 11th-century church built over an ancient pagan temple (as was common practice at the time) with a gleaming Romanesque facade, medieval interiors & solid views of the city below. It rained ever so slightly on us as we arrived, so we gratefully entered the church and lingered there a little while until the sprinkle had passed. Then we proceeded down the hill to the better known city view point of Piazzale Michelangelo which also hosts a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David sculpture, the original was removed to protect it from the elements.
We then ventured down the hill through a garden and across the river to catch a view of Basilica of Santa Croce. Next up was the sculpture museum! T and I were both excited to see the Bargello National Museum which is a 13th century palace that houses some of the greatest Renaissance works by Michaelangelo. Alas, the museum was closed on the date of our visit. While we were a little disappointed, we opted instead to visit a rather odd museum dedicated to Franco Zeffirelli. If you have no idea who he was don’t worry, neither did we, so here is a brief blip to fill you in on what we learned.
Franco Zeffirelli was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and eventually politician. He was well known as a director of opera and theatre of the post-World War II era. He was known for his lavish stagings of classical works, such as Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet, as well as his film adaptations of these works.
We left the museum enlightened a little and then ventured onward to the big one, the church Florence is internationally recognized by, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We spent time in the Cathedral and its baptistery and museum. By the end of these, T was pretty tapped out, as was I, so we took a brief respite at a small restaurant.
Once revived by a bit of food, we set off in search of visiting the David statue. As we approached, we saw the line. It was immense and stretched past our view. Having already seen the replica perched upon the hill, we opted to skip it. Instead, we began the long walk back to our apartment. The route we had charted took us past the last few things we wanted to see. These included the bridge known as Ponte Vecchio and Pitti Palace where we enjoyed some well earned gelato.
We returned to our apartment in the attic tired, but happy and we quickly fell asleep.
September 15th, 2022
We rose the next morning, packed, enjoyed a quick breakfast, and then caught a bus back to the train station. We were bound for Siena, which promised to be a deeper dive into the Tuscany region.