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Published: November 20th 2006
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We had a great flight over the big pond. After some phone calls back and forth between ticketing and reservations, we were able to upgrade in Chicago to World Business Class and so, we rode in comfort in the upstairs of a KLM 747 all the way to Amsterdam. We could get used to that mode of travel. The best part was that the seats reclined almost completely, so sleeping was relatively comfortable. Ann actually got some sleep, but Pat not wanting to miss anything, only cat-napped. Still our advice to anyone is: Try it -- you'll like it!
From Amsterdam, Meridiana flew us to Firenze (Florence), getting us there at 1:30 PM. Now, here's a country that knows how to work customs. Our luggage was off-loaded and we headed for the customs area. We saw the two customs signs, one with a red arrow said merci da dichiarare; the other with a green arrow, said nulla da dichiarare. Our Italian immersion class helped us figure out nulla = no, nothing; dichiarare = declare? The arrow colors helped too. So having nothing to declare, we headed to the right and found ourselves smack dab at the terminal exit. Piece of
cake! We caught a cab to the Hotel Nizza and immediately knew we had made the correct decision about not driving in Italy. There is no Minnesota Nice (or anywhere else for that matter) happening here. The motorbike drivers all wear helmets but, should be locked in a rubber room! They're NUTS! If they drove this way in the US, there would be bodies and Vespas littering the roadways!
We were tired and needed a nap, so after we checked in, we marched up the 3 flights of stairs to our room. We were exhausted! Our careful, calculated planning accounted for everything except charging the camera battery BEFORE we got to Italy. But! We had a converter that would make this easy! We plugged in the camera and checked out the leaks in our eye-lids.
The sound of POP, POP, POP caused Pat to jump to his feet and bonk his head on the TV above the area where the camera was plugged into. The smell of burnt electric, said it all. Pat was again in contention for the "That's OK, we can always buy a new one", Klutz of the Year Award. In 1972, his first foray
in Europe, he won hands down against stiff competition from 3 contenders. He was older now; could he still have it in him? Stay tuned folks, time will tell.
It just didn't matter, Pat was too tired to even care. He would sleep now and deal with the repercussions later.
About 4pm, we awoke to a dark room. Collecting our senses and courage, we cleaned up and went down to face the owners to see what we had wrecked. The camera appeared to have no damage. The converter stunk however, and would now be worthless to us.
The owner at the desk chuckled and flipped the circuit breaker behind him to activate our room. He gave us some information to check on the camera charger and told us not to worry. Our spirits lifted, we asked about places to eat and were directed down the street. Let it be known, the Italians don't build anything straight. Each segment of road is built as just that; a segment. Then, the next segment may go in an entirely different direction; say, angled or curved a bit. Also, the roads are wide enough for 1 car and 2 people. So,
when walking and 2 cars are approaching each other, the excitement level rises. And yet the Italians do it with ease. Stupid Americans, we drive tiny cars, not big honkin' SUV's!
We found the recommended restaurant, after a small adventure in map reading by Pat, with doubts supplied by Ann. However, they weren't open yet. It was
only 5 PM! We figured they would open at any minute so we wandered around to see some sights and take a picture or two. The digital camera's battery was showing a full charge. Hmmmm? Saw the Ponte Vecchio and some other Italian looking things, then actually found our way back to the restaurant. Still not open. It didn't matter; we walked towards the hotel and ate at the first place that was open and affordable. It was a sidewalk cafe that served pizza and wine. What more did we need?
Our bellies filled, we moved on. It was later now, past 7 PM, and the restaurants we saw were starting to open for the evening. With that, we knew our eating habits were in for a serious workout! Starting to eat dinner after 7 PM? How could that be good for you?
We were still tired but wanted to try to see some of Firenze. We would be leaving to meet the others for our culinary week late the next morning, so this was it for sight-seeing. Past the stazione, we saw the days-end of the flea-markets. The crowds were thinning so we started looking for the Duomo and a possible photo-op. We foung the Duomo as the sun was setting below the horizon and set up for some timed-exposure, tripod photography. It was so beautiful with the days light fading from the bell tower and facade!
Hotel and sleeping bound; but, the streets were just waking up again. Ear plugs will be a must for the entire trip.
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