A Day In Florence

I realize that I have not blogged since 15 Aprile, but I was depressed over more than leaving the paths of rural Italy behind. It was tax day. First time I have ever had to pay, instead of receive. Bummer.
We thoroughly enjoyed Siena. Our room was, well, utilitarian (which is a very kind description). No view, but great location, just one block from Il Campo. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a beautiful day, even if it started out chilly. The sun was shining (a blessed change) and we went to the Duomo museum, which was magnificent, and climbed to the top of the tower that overlooks Siena. Splendid. I have great photos of all of this, which we will upload upon return. We had visited the Duomo the day before and took the audio tour. Wow. What a space.
We shopped, purchasing a bag in which to haul our loot, and lugged everything to the autobus stazione centrale, catching the Firenze Rapide for a 75 minute ride to Firenze (Florence). Our hotel here, run by the very nice and Americano Kelly, is located right on the Duomo piazza, which we found quite easily, I am happy to say. Rick Steves warns of thieves and pickpockets along the way from the station. We had too much stuff to bother with, I think, and we had an uneventful walk to the piazza — and then we had to walk up three floors with all that stuff to get to the hotel. It is located in a larger building, on the third floor, no elevator. But very nice. We flung open the window to look out immediately on the Duomo baptistry in front and the magnificent Duomo to the right. The Duomo is intricately carved white and green marble, with all sorts of statues gracing the front and topped over the central door by the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus. The current “skin” of the building was not added until 1870. We hope to climb to the top of the tower today to get a view of the city.
We sat at the window and looked over the piazza, enjoying a bottle of wine, and then prepared to go out.
The shops here are prolific and fine. The leather shops in particular are really nice. They smell so good! And the purses — wow! We looked around for a while, stopped in a bar and had a drink with happy hour (which puts the American version of happy hour to shame), enjoying fresh vegetables, fruits, bruchetta and salad for a little snack. We then walked a little further and found another piazza where the “fake” David is located, along with lots of other statues. (The artists really liked to make naked statues, as there are LOTS of them.) Apparently this square was where the Olympic torch had passed, as there was a large banner hanging about human rights in Tibet.
Walking a little further, we found a great little restaurant, very cozy, paneled walls, nice folks. We had antipasti (proscuitto, salami, and some more bruchetta), ravioli stuffed with Gorgonzola, a yummy pasta with tomato sauce, bistecca (steak) and then biscotti that we dunked in vin santo.
We had reservations to see The David this morning at 9:15 but when we got there, there was a sign posted saying that it would not open until after 10 because they were having a staff meeting. So, I hope we will get to see it but perhaps not. The art is unbelievable, Hopie. We will be heading into some of that today. Florence is the city of art and we need to see some of it!
That is all for now. Will try to get in some more later.
ciao…
betsy