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We got our money’s worth on our bus tickets today. They’re really good, working on time not distance, i.e. it doesn’t matter how many buses you go on as long as your trip is within 90 mins. So we could catch the city bus to San Marco Piazza and then the No. 7 up in the hills to Fiesole which only takes about 25 minutes.
We tried to get a taxi to San Marco Piazza as it on the other side of the city to the north. But that failed. Taxis cannot be hailed as every one that goes into the city limits is ordered. We thought it would be a good test when we need taxis to go to the airport (Bev) and train station (I & J) in a fortnight when we leave. The book said they work on a specific time so when I phoned I gave 9.45 but the guy said they couldn’t book only 15 minutes in advance. Then when we were ready there was no taxi available. In the Via Guicciardini area. MInd you by the time I said Via Guicciardini 3 or 4 times I was getting quite tongue tied. And then I
said Eleven instead of Undici!
So we gave up and just used the local city bus. We will book the day before we leave.
The ride up took us through northern leafy suburbs with terracotta coloured stylish mansions, large and small, with spacious grounds. The view from the top was stunning. Mind you we had to walk up a further 200 metres to the lookout by the small San Francescan church and convent on the very top of the hill. Bev did well. She walked to a memorial park half way up so was able to enjoy the view. The view was not the only attraction. Inside the very small church is a glorious painting of the Annunciation by Raffaellino del Garbo. Not
the Rafael but not a too shabby painter nevertheless. Opposite was another beauty, The Adoration of the Magi by I think an artist with Battista in his name. Anyway in the dimly lit church the colours were incredibly bright especially the red.
While Bev returned downhill to the square, Ian and I set off for a bit of a ramble around the edge of the town finishing up at the ruins of the Roman
Baths. These were very sophisticated with hot and cold baths, well preserved ovens for heating water and channels for moving water around. One room even had a false floor.
People have been living here since 700 BC starting with the Longobards, followed by the Etruscans. Rome conquered it in 90BC and Florentines in 1125. The Museum was very interesting.
We arrived back at Piazza San Marco to be in the centre of a flag waving protest march so the bus had to be rerouted. We’ve seen a few protests and rallies. The funniest one was a bicycle rally with bikes of all shapes, sizes, heights and number of wheels including penny farthings and unicycles. Picture if you will Mum and Dad sitting side by side on a four wheeled bike with an approx 4 - 5 month old baby in a square plastic basket (the collapsible ones teachers use) on the front bobbing up and down as it was ridden over cobblestones. It was on a blanket and wasn’t in any danger of falling out.
For dinner we wandered over to Piazza Santo Spirito which had a real buzzy feel to it with families out enjoying the
mild evening. Funnily enough none of us chose pasta or pizza.
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