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Published: November 8th 2007
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Buon giorno! Time to get up - nice and early again as to make the most of our day! We head to Cafe Firenze on Via Cavour for a cappuccino, hot chocolate and a donut (breaky of champions) and to relax a bit before we visit the Duomo. We want to get there when it opens so the line won't be so long. Yes, we know it's ironic that we have been here for six weeks and are just now getting around to going inside the Duomo. The benefit is that it is much less crowded and we get in without any problem. We take the stairs down into the Santa Reparata excavation. Apparently the Duomo is built on top of a few churches dating back to the 4th century! Talk about your history lesson. It is really impressive - some of the mosaic floors, frescoes, brick work and tombs have been preserved...incredible.
Then Gus mentions that he wants to go to the interior viewing deck of the Duomo to take some pictures of the intricate frescoes, etc. I agree to join him...the platform surrounding the interior of the dome looks okay and I think I can handle it. We
Under the Duomo...
...in the San Reparata remains. head up the 400+ winding steps to the FIRST level (just below the round windows)- yeah, there's more! I get up there, take one look and proceed to have a fairly massive panic attack. The walkway is about 2 feet wide with PLEXIGLAS between me and a 40-story plummet to the middle of the basilica! I am FREAKING OUT! I walk as quickly as possible to the exit - oh yeah, it's one way AND you have to go ALL THE WAY AROUND to exit!!! There are a bunch of people in front of us because it is basically one lane, but I use the "Mi scusi!" over and over and reach the exit. Or what I think is the exit. Oh no...you have to go up ANOTHER level in order to exit!!! I am sweating, my heart is racing, I'm on the verge of a complete breakdown and my knees aren't behaving. Gus is a saint and is right behind me making sure I don't die. We go up to the next level which is right at the bottom of the frescoes. I really start to feel like I am going to have a heart attack - chest pain,
fluttery stomach, my arms are numb - the whole she-bang. I must have looked panicked enough because the guard at the top of the stairs proceeds to tell us that the exit is two turns away. I have to WALK about 100 feet around the dome to get to the exit. By this time I am crying and totally panicked. Gus is also concerned and doesn't really know what to do and I am in no shape to tell him. Finally we decide that I am heading for terra firma as fast as possible and he is going to stay up here and take pics. All I want is my two feet back on the ground. It takes a while to get down as it is a narrow staircase and there less-panicked individuals in front of me. I am panting, crying and feeling my heart race. It takes me about 20 more minutes to calm down once I reach the bottom. I welcome the fresh air and sunshine like I have been brought back from the dead. No more heights for me!
Gus shows up about an hour later to a much calmer Jen. He tells me that it
took so long because he went to the TOP of the Duomo...yeah, the little cupola perched on top...to have a look around. I'll have him write about that...
Knowing the one thing that will make all this panic craziness disappears he says "Are you hungry? How about Pugi for lunch?" Ah, Saint Gus, my hubby. He knows what I like. We walk back to Piazza San Marco and I tell him about my descent and heart attack-like symptoms and how this really can't be good for the Rix-let. Yay! Pugi! Packed as usual, we take a number and I proceed to eat a third of a kilo of their pizza margherita. Gus shows a little more restraint and has half that amount. I figure that it's my last Pugi fix, so I'm gonna make it count! We find a table inside (a momentous feat) and I am in heaven and my traumatic Duomo experience slowly wanes. I must get my hands on the Pugi recipe archive!
We head outside to have a seat in the Piazza and Gus mentions that we have come full circle since we sat in the exact same place shortly after arriving in Florence.
Frescoes...
...and, oh yeah, we were UP THERE!
The sun is shining and the sky is blue. Ahhh...Firenze.
After sunning ourselves in the piazza it's naptime. We head back to the apartment for a while to do some last minute packing, etc. We call the girls who we are donating our food to and they show up promptly. Amazing how fast college students move at the mention of free food. It's official, we must be leaving because the fridge and pantry are now bare.
We set out to purchase a few items, including a suitcase to hold all our new stuff and find that the market at San Lorenzo is gone! Uh, what?! Come to find out that the street vendors close on the first Monday of every month during the winter. Hmmm...this puts a bit of a monkey wrench in our plans. So we head to the surrounding shops instead. Gus and I visit a store where he had found a work bag he liked and we haggled like champs to get the price down! It was a proud moment. It's nice to be the only shoppers out with a bunch of open stores begging for customers. 😊 Gus bought his very nice leather work
The View from the Top!
I am somewhere down there recovering. :) bag for a song compared to what they sell for in the States.
Later on we decide to attempt to watch the sunset from the Piazza Michealangelo. That plan is foiled by a bus that never shows up. Oh well, we've seen some good ones before.
Time for our last dinner in Florence...where shall we eat? So many to choose from. And the winner is...the Greek restaurant up the street from our apartment. Yes, Greek food on our last night in Italy. We have walked by this place dozens of times and kept threatening to go. So we went. And it was FANTASTIC! It's a good thing we didn't go earlier in the trip because we would have been there over and over (and it's a little too pricey for that). I had the mixed Greek platter with grilled veg, hummus, babaganoush, meatballs, gyro meat (spit roasted pork), fried cheeseballs and falafel. Mmmm...Gus had a gyro platter that was too good! We ordered a side of tzatziki sauce and pita bread and dug in. Heaven! The perfect last meal for the perfect trip. We play "what was your favorite..." throughout the meal. We left the restaurant feeling full
and happy.
There was only one more thing on our list of to-do's...caffe correto...espresso with liquor. Gus and I go to the restaurant across the street from our apartment and he orders his drink. Espresso with a bit of grappa. I cringe at the thought. Gus sips, and sips and notes "it makes the grappa taste better and makes the espresso taste worse." Then there is some mention that grappa is like jet fuel. I laugh because I am not surprised - grappa is some potent stuff. 😊
We cross the street to our apartment and prepare ourselves for a short nights sleep (we have to be up at 3:30 am).
And with that our adventure comes to an end. We traveled for 30+ hours, but made it home safely. Until the next Gus and Gus adventure! 😊
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Sandra Simmons
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Don't leave!
I'll send money. I've enjoyed the journey and I don't want it to end.