Florence

Sunday May 18, 2008


6:00 am wake up call to get on the road to Florence. I slept most of the 3 1/2 hour drive. This tour was a fast pace to keep up with! Drove past vineyards and fields of red poppies. Once in Florence drove up to the Piazzale Michelangelo which overlooks the city. Stunning views. It had been raining on the way up but it cleared when we arrived. So far we had pretty good luck with the weather. We had a group picture taken and explored the Piazzale. There was a replica of David which had turned green from the elements. Bought some postcards and had a great lunch, tomato and green olive paninis. Italy's food never disappoints!

A vineyard view from the bus

Views from Piazzale Michelangelo

Below the Piazzale was a beautiful garden. There were citrus trees, coy ponds, turtle ponds and cats. I came across one that looked like Halo. It was a dose of nature we needed.

Then we drove down into Florence to meet our local guide. It rained on and off during the tour. It was quite difficult and humours to navigate through the crowds as we all carried umbrellas, trying not to poke anyone's eye out! We explored Piazza di St Giovanni, and the Piazza del Duomo, seeing the baptistery and the Duomo.

The Florence Duomo is dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore and is typical of Italian Gothic architecture. The present building was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1245-1302), one of the greatest architect- sculptors of his age. This was finished in around 1367 and was completely covered with coloured marbles.

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) won the completion to build the Duomo (Dome) using remarkable technical knowledge to achieve the uniquely beautiful results we see today. Completed in 1436, the Duomo is the most characteristic feature of the Florentine skyline, symbolising a great cultural tradition and the city's civic awareness.

The Florence Bapistry or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St John) is a religious edifice in Florence. Believed to be the oldest building in the city, it is particularly famed for its three sets of magnificent and artistically important bronze doors. The Baptistery was built around 6th or 7th century. Until the end of the 19th century all Catholic Florentines were baptized in this church.

In 1401 the people of Florence decided their baptistry needed spectacular new doors. A competition was held to find the most suitable sculptor. Lorenzo Ghiberti won the competition. For more than 20 years Ghiberti toiled on the 28 panels; refining and perfecting, casting and recasting them, until at last, in 1424, the brand new façade of the baptistry was unveiled to the public.

Then onto Piazza della Signoria where we saw another replica of the David.

Fountain of Neptune was completed in 1565

Perseus with the Head of Medusa

Replica of David, placed here in 1910

Then off to Piazza di Santa Croce. We watched a leather demonstration, then off shopping. We had gelato, not quite as good as in Rome but good none the less. Florence is famous for leather. Many of our tour companions bought leather purses, jackets, and boots. While exploring we saw the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno river.

Ponte Vecchio was erected during Roman times, this is the most ancient and photographed bridge in Florence, which is characterized by three arches and two wide arcades on each side housing the famous and unusual "botteghe" or shops.

To cover the restoration and scaffolding pictures of buildings are hung

The 'Basilica di Santa Croce' (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the ''Pantheon of the Italian Glories''.

Mom and I having gelato in Piazza di Santa Croce

Then off to check into the hotel. Had an included dinner at the hotel, the vegetarian option was an omelette, which was just eggs, parsley and olive oil, and was the very best omelette I have ever had! Then back to the room to email home. This hotel was, as mom puts it ‘modern’ and we couldn’t figure out how to turn the lights in the room off. You needed your card to activate the electricity, and then it was on a timer system. So after a call to the front desk the tired tourists were off to bed with an early wake up call coming the next morning. Florence was such a beautiful city, and less congested than Rome. I would have loved to stay longer, but we were off to Venice for more adventures!

Venice

Monday May 19, 2008



Up at 6:45 am to drive to Venice, about 3 1/2 hours. Drove through mountains and over the Po river. Arrived in Venice. Drove into Piazzle Roma, which is as far as vehicles can go in Venice. Had lunch at a cafe on the patio overlooking a canal. I found out Fettuccini Alfredo has ham in it, mom had lasagne. Venice is like nothing I have ever seen before!

This is not the best picture, but the rows of green silver trees on the right are olive trees

Red poppies grow everywhere in Italy

There is nothing better than having lunch looking out over a canal

Then off for a gondola ride. There were 6 of us in the gondola and it was quite tippy, so our gondolier was having to frequently remind us that shifting our weight could tip over the gondola. Could you imagine accidentally tipping a gondola, 6 soaking wet tourists that would be funny! Beautiful to see Venice from a gondola.

Then off to a huge ferry to take us and our bus across to an island called the Lido where our hotel was. At its narrowest point the Lido is less than 1 km wide, you could look in either direction and see both shores. Our hotel was a home that was converted into a hotel. We walked to the Adriatic Sea, which was neat to see. It turned out to be a beautiful day, they called for showers but they never came. We explored around our hotel before having a rest.

The Adriatic Sea!

We had an included dinner which was very good at a nearby restaurant and then headed off for an optional excursion of a cruise of the Grand Canal and visiting St. Mark's Square to see it all lit up at night.

It was raining a bit as we took a water taxi over. Stopped at the Rialto Bridge, which was beautiful all lit up. Then off to St. Mark's Square.

Evening boat ride on the Grand Canal

Art outside a museum

The Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) is the true heart of Venice. The current structure was built in just three years, between 1588 and 1591, as a permanent replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th Century. It remained the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854.

The Rialto Bridge's 24-foot arch was designed to allow passage of galleys. The massive structure was built on some 12,000 wooden pilings that still support the bridge more than 400 years later.

Me and mom on the Rialto Bridge

For approximately eight hundred years, Venice enjoyed a position of unrivalled superiority. Considered a breed apart from its European cousins, Venice was unquestionably the most extravagant, most beautiful state on the Continent.

Unlike the vast majority of their counterparts in contemporary European nations, each citizen in Venice enjoyed a high standard of living. With a level of social wealth unequalled since, the citizens of Venice developed a unique culture - one in which the concealing of the identity in daily life became paramount to daily activity. Part of the secrecy was pragmatic: there were things to do, people to see, and perhaps you might not want others to know what deals you were cutting.

State inquisitors and spies could question citizens without fear of their true identity being discovered, and citizens could answer without fear of retribution. The morale of the people was maintained through the use of masks - for with no faces, everyone had voices.
As a result of the concealment of identity, however, people naturally found themselves taking advantage of the situation. The society grew ever more decadent. The immense amount of travelers coming through the city meant that sexual promiscuity was commonplace and acceptable.

The Republic fell into a state of luxury, indolence, and moral decay. Eventually the wearing of masks in daily life was banned and limited only to certain months of the year, eventually shortened to the week-long festivities Carnevale.

St Mark’s square at night

We ended up at a wonderful cafe in the square that had a band playing. Enjoyed a glass of red wine and beautiful music. As we were leaving I found the knock off Prada purse I was looking for. By buying it I was probably funding child labour or terrorism!! It was a perfect evening. Quick boat ride back to the Lido to get some sleep.

Video of the band

Tuesday May 20, 2008

Up at 6:30 am. Off to Venice by water taxi to see the Bridge of Sighs and St Mark's Square. We went inside St Mark's Basilica. The entire interior was done in beautiful mosaics. Bought a few postcards as you can't take photos inside.

Bridge of Sighs. Antonio Contino's bridge over the Rio di Palazzo was erected in the year 1600 to connect the prisons, or Prigioni, with the inquisitor's rooms in the main palace. The name "Bridge of Sighs" was invented in the 19th Century, when Lord Byron helped to popularize the belief that the bridge's name was inspired by the sighs of condemned prisoners as they were led through it to the prison. Doge's palace is in the left and the prision is on the right.

Venetians won’t walk between these pillars as it is the spot where public executions took place

The Doge's Palace. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice. The title of Doge was used for the elected chief of state.

Saint Mark's Basilica, the cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. Originally it was the chapel of the Venetian rulers, and not the city's cathedral. Since 1807 it has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice.

We watched a glass blowing demonstration which was incredible. He made a vase and a horse. We were told that for the first time learning the craft is being taught to people outside of the area, as no young people are taking up the craft. It takes years to become a master, and they worry the craft may die off. Then off shopping!

On our way back to meet the group St Mark's Square had flooded. It was so neat to see. Everyone was wading out to have their pictures taken.

Acqua Alta. The Flooding of Venice, when it does happen, is only temporary lasting around 1 to 2 hours depending on the level of the tide.

Acqua Alta as it’s known by the Venetians is a regular occurrence in Venice. There are numerous factors that can play a role in creating the high waters that flood the city of Venice. The main culprit is the tidal flow of the Adriatic as it pushes water into the Lagoon. This tidal flow tends to be at its most influential at the beginning and end of the full moon cycle.

After the influence of the tides, the winds blowing down from the Balkans or up from the Sahara can also play a major role in the floods of Venice. Pushing water on to the city, wave after wave until all the streets of Venice become flooded.

This is where I bought my fake purse the night before. I bought the yellow one.

In the afternoon we were off for an optional excursion of the island of Burano which is a small fishing island. Rained off and on. We all went to a seafood restaurant for the best seafood! It was endless; seafood risotto, clam spaghetti, sole, St Peter's fish, shrimp, calamari and these S shaped cookies that you dip in your wine. They are produced on the island, so of course mom and I bought some to take home. I would like the record to reflect that I, the former picky eater, tried and enjoyed everything! And mom did not. Then off shopping.

A minor mix up and mom and I found ourselves lost when trying to meet the group to leave. The locals we so kind to help us try to find our way, but with the language barrier we kept ending up at the public transport dock. We eventually reconnected with our tour guide, who had to send the group back on their own and come looking for us! We took the public transport back to the Lido. Thankfully only bruised egos. I guess it was a good thing to get lost on an island, we didn't get too far!

Then back to the hotel to pack all our treasures in preparation for Switzerland tomorrow! Had some tea, and early to bed. We set the alarm clock early for 5:45 am, so we wouldn't be late, after the afternoon's fiasco.