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Enjoy Florence
We started off the morning at the Florentine sister organization of Enjoy Rome. Jen, the enthusiastic guide from Stanford, was a student of Renaissance art. She led us on a tour of the outdoor wonders of the city. She showed us how the carving art had progressed from the Middle Ages to the early Renaissance, through Michelangelo's work and into the overzealous Mannerism artists. It was much more interesting when she explained it, and it seemed to make sense too.
San Lorenzo
Having lived in Florence for more than one year, Jen was wise in many ways. She knew the tricks of the gypsies. She had just finished telling us how the gypsy (is that an ethnic group or just a way of life?) kids would hold out a piece of cardboard or a map to block the view of your eyes. Meanwhile, they are reaching in your pockets and bags for money. I have heard many stories of European pickpockets, but I have never had any problems myself. This lead me to dismiss it as an exaggeration, similar to the stories of gun-toting Americans. However, it is true. Jen gave us one final warning as we started to walk past some suspicious kids and into the church. The two girls proceeded to spit on Jen and hold out their silly paper in search of our wallets. Jt was quite obvious after the explanation, but unbelievable nonetheless.
For once, a church actually felt like a sanctuary. San Lorenzo is not covered in marble, because the funds ran out before that stage of construction. It sits as a plain brick building with indents in the facade where marble may one day be attached. The book defies its cover, though, because the inside of this church is much lighter and more beautiful than the famous Duomo which sports a rather gaudy facade. I liked this place best.
Italian Cuisine
Jen agreed with me that Italian pizza and pasta can get boring after a while. She was happy to point me in the direction of a Japanese restaurant where I could finally satisfy my craving for some fine noodles. They didn't have ramen noodles for Josh, so we ate soba and udon instead. Fine green tea and nice people. I could finally order in a language I know, Japanese. There was even a newsletter for the Japanese community of Tuscany. Interesting. After lunch, we headed back to Vivoli's (which Jen had also recommended) for more of that expensive fun-flavored Italian ice.
Evening Stroll
Josh wanted to return to the Piazza Croce to see the tomb of Michelangelo, among others. I checked up on my street artist who had moved to a slightly new spot, but was still seated near the woman who
seemed to be "painting by the numbers." We stopped by the train station to check on the departures in the morning. The Italian train station is not the most sane place. Lots of lost people trying to get that last-minute seat reservation or catch a train that is already gone. We had more fun with the "automatic" (why is there always a person monitoring this modern wonder?) ticketing machine. Two tickets to Venice.
Nother Evening Stroll
After another dinner of tuna and tomatoes, Josh and I decided to split up for the night. We were not yet at the point of killing each other, but it is not easy to spend twenty-four hours a day with the same person very long. It turns out, we both went for the same walk, but it was nice to do it alone. I set off across the river to the less-touristy side. Lots of narrow, dark streets with alternating groups of tourists and locals strolling along. I came upon the Palazzo Vechio, the old palace. It is a huge place but not terribly inspiring. Despite its grandeur, I can honestly say that I would not want to live there. I walked into the courtyard and took in the grand fountain built into the wall. A nice place to sing a song.
Crossing the Ponte Vechio (the old bridge) I returned to the tourist town. There were big bands playing classy music in a couple of the plazas. Lots of wealthy people enjoying dinner at one of the
many tables set-up in the plaza. Is this how the ancients would have enjoyed this plaza, with its grand statues of The David and others looking on? I had to escape this world for a bit for thirty minutes on the internet. I have had much more luck finding internet cafes since I started coming to bigger tourist places. Bought some bananas for breakfast and returned to the hotel. I talked to the guy at the reception for a bit. He said that the many guests come from 1.USA, 2.France, and 3.Holland. It's a pretty international place, our little one-star. The guy was a student from Naples, hoping to visit the Americas some day. I wished him luck.
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