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Published: February 12th 2008
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Finally, Italy! I've been waiting 22 years for this!
After getting to Italy and a half day’s forced rest, I was restless to explore beyond the suburb in which my aunt and uncle live. My uncle, suggested the ruins of a castle called Mathilda de Canossa on a nearby (still a lengthy drive away) cliff-top, which we could quickly visit and then be home for dinner (dinner is very VERY important. I’m happy we kept to this rule).
So we drove the rental car, a silver fiat punto, in a straight line on the autostrada. Then we began to weave through the hilly Italian countryside. Then we began to drive up a hill of a pretty significant height. Winding roads.. ah yes, car sickness, I’ve found you again! Needless to say, I got to ride shotgun for the rest of Italy.
We arrived around 4pm and we had the place to ourselves. I was impressed by the mountain-spring fountain, the beautiful vistas, and the lush greenery and flowers; all by the parking lot. I ran/skipped/tripped up ahead, passing only locals taking a stroll with their dog while my uncle and father puffed their way up. More
beautiful flowers, more beautiful vistas, and the promise of a castle atop the hill! To my dismay, there wasn’t all that much left of the castle, save the ruins of one tower, which were being restored, like everything else of historical value in Europe, and which the sight of was slightly disenchanting with all the scaffolding. There is also a small museum which in itself is a historical building, occupying the old chapel if I’m not mistaken. It was pretty. They chatted a bit with a long-haired Italian guy, who must have been lonely up there by himself watching over the museum, and who must have been looking forward to a beautiful dinner. I know I was!
We stopped at the gift shop before leaving, of course, in which my uncle and father immediately fell into lengthy conversation with the man inside. After the purchase of some books (which translates to excess weight in your luggage!!) and some wine, we rushed back to my aunt’s beautiful dinner 😊
The next day was Florence, Firenze! Now I was excited, finally getting to see famous Italy! Except of course, everyone visiting Italy had the same idea that day. Tourists and
crowds definitely detract from the pleasant experience that is an adventure. Nonetheless, the day started out as an adventure. Three hours on the autostrada, through tunnels and after breakfasting at the autogrill (you can get espresso at McDs), we drove through the gates of the city! More like the outskirts really, but the beautiful gardens were already dazzling me and I could imagine the beautiful people from the time of the renaissance strolling through them romantically~ I even saw my first gypsy, though she was much less interesting than I thought a gypsy would be, as all she did was insist on cleaning our windshield despite my father vehemently signaling no. She just, sadly didn't live up to my high expectations of what a gypsy should look like.
We found central Florence bustling, found parking, and walked about ten minutes to the city center to check out everything Florence had to offer. Ponte Vecchio was interesting, and famous too. My cousin was later confused about my lack of interest in the beautiful things they were selling there. The architecture was beautiful, there were some nice statues, a replica of the statue of David as well, a fountain of Neptune,
and in the main square, a showcase of Florence police and their vehicles from the past. FYI the carabinieri drive motoguzzis. I also ran into my friend Sas, which made the afternoon that much more pleasant!
I saw Il Duomo, but it too I believe was being restored. I didn’t go inside, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t very interested in the crowd. Florence architecture is very beautiful and I saw frescoes even on some regular buildings. We went to a palazzo to look at the gardens and that impressed me much more. It was very grand though, and well frequented by tourists. Apparently Florence has many beautiful gardens and if I’d had my way, I would have toured them, just to lose myself in visions of who might have lived there and walked there hundreds of years ago, but according to my father, there are gardens back home, and did I come all the way to Italy to see gardens? Harumph. I think we were all tired from the heat and the crowds so we had a quick gelato and left Florence for the town of Vinci, birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.
At this point, a
day old sun was casting longer shadows, but it was the perfect time to visit; a slower, lazier time of day. Once again, vendors were closing up shop, and tourists had left for the day. We did not get to go inside Vinci’s house, which we visited, but we walked up the olive-lined path and visited some vendors to buy sweet honey on the walk back down. To me, this was a much more authentic Italian experience as when we drove back through the town, you could see its citizens enjoying the late afternoon, and I got to check out the soccer team. Very beautiful. The visit to Vinci was short, but it gave me a sense of Tuscany’s beauty and encourages me to explore that which is hidden.
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