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Published: July 19th 2010
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7/18/07 to 7/21/07
"The buzz of the city is gone and this is so peaceful."--Dan Parks on the scenic train ride from Rome to Florence.
We almost have four days in Florence, which is quite a long time to see two museums and a big checkered church. So upon arrival, I investigated tour options to maximize our experience.
On my previous visit to Florence, I recall seeing the paintings and sculptures, but have more vivid memories of meeting up with college friends and having wine, cheese and bread picnics in the piazzas. Therefore, exploration of Tuscany, the region encompassing and surrounding Florence, is a brand new experience for me.
As for new experiences...I started my time in Florence at the laundromat. I had laundry done in Burma and Bangkok, but the heat of Rome called for immediate intervention. It cost about $10 USD to wash and dry ONE load!!
After the spin-cycle robbery, I took a nighttime stroll with beer in hand, making frequent stops for refills and sit-downs. I accidently stumbled upon the Duomo and forgot how phenomenal and massive the cathedral is. The construction of the Duomo began around 1300 and took about 150 years to make.
it has a huge dome and looks almost checkered with its pink, green and white marble variations. By day, throngs of people fill the surrounding piazza, taking in its splendor. But at night, the steps become a social hangout for locals, teenagers, tourists...and drunk me.------------------------
7/19/07
Our tour of Tuscany began at 8:00 am and was my favorite Italian experience to date. Our tour (80 Euro) consisted of a trip to Siena, a drive through Chianti country, lunch at a Tuscany farmhouse, San Gimingnano(SG) and Pisa. Siena and SG are unforgettable. They are nestled in the mountainous wine regions of Tuscany and feel as if they exist in a Disney time capsule. Both are mideival villages, complete with narrow cobblestone streets and 12th century churches and buildings. The surrounding backdrop includes vineyards, wild flowers and a cloudless blue sky. Tiny shops and eateries lined the pathways. My mom would have particularly loved Siena--like her own mideival Monterrey. She would especially have loved their candied bread specialty, which reminded me of the fruitcakes she collected and devoured every Christmas. Mom was very present with me in Siena.
I wanted so much to share SG with Billy. In many ways
it was like a theme park we would have playfully explored together, inbetween photographs of the scenic lookouts, wine tasting, and souvenir shopping. In SG, I ate both wine and saffron flavored gelato from the shop that was awarded the top prize at the 2007 international Gelato Championship (who knew??). I also went to the mideival torture museum which was truly twisted.
The leaning tower of Pisa was worth a look and was a nice spot to sit on the shaded lawn and take photographs. On the ride home, I learned Pinnocchio was written by a florentine from Collodi. I always thought Disney imagined it. A nice ending to the night was the t-bone steak dinner we shared with some of our tourmates. Five of them were 24-year old Lebanese girls from Australia, and the other four were a delightful Chinese family from Calgary. Florence just manifests good food and fellowship.
The rest of my time in Florence area was spent in the actual city. I visited the Accademia Gallery to gaze upon the glorious sculpture of David by Michelangelo, and viewed one too many paintings at the Uffizi art museum. I also checked out a museum on
Torture Museum
Pretty Fucked up shit serial killers. Why not? Some of my favorite moments in Florence were eating fresh fruit at a shady spot in the park next to my hotel and feeding the seeds to the pigeons.
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