A Florentine Finale
Trip Start
Oct 29, 2009
1
15
Trip End
Nov 15, 2009
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Friday, November 13, 2009
duomo florence.jpg
Today was our last full day of enjoying all that Italy has to offer before beginning our journey back west tomorrow morning. Having had a couple of days off from major metropolitan areas, we decided to finish our journey in Florence, the city where the Renaissance began. The history of this former Italian capital is staggering, from Brunellechi's triumphant dome marking the start of the Renaissance to the Medici family's enclosure of Ponte Vecchio, the city provides a rich view into the splendorous birthplace of modern western culture.
Florence's old political center
We had our pal, Rick Steves, with us again today as we toured the Galeria Degli Uffizi, which houses the largest collection of Renaissance paintings in the world. It was incredible to see the difference in quality between the great artists of the time, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo, and the lesser-known artists. There was a noticeable difference, so much so that Kate wondered why some of the lesser-known artists' work was even hung. (Kate: An insult I know and I'm sorry! I just couldn't help but wonder!) Similar to Siena, there was a ton of art dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who seems to be highly revered in Italian culture. The Uffizi also holds a tremendous number of sculptures and the Florentine artists paid tremendous homage to their Greek and Roman predecessors through that particular medium. In addition to sculpture, the City's architecture also reached back to try and capture the spirit and skill of the ancients. The Duomo was the first dome of its kind built in 1000 years, and Brunellechi studied Rome's Pantheon in preparation for his crowning achievement.
Duomo/ Tower ringing
The Duomo
In addition to providing us with a great tour of the Uffizi, Rick Steves also put together a fantastic walking tour of the city's historical center. We began our one hour walk at the Duomo and finished at Ponte Vecchio. There were numerous sites in between providing details of Florence's political and social history. While the City itself was not as impressive as others we've visited on this trip, the sheer inspiration it provided for the rest of Europe to awaken from the Middle Ages made it well-worth a visit. Kate grabbed a delicious gelatto for the walk and we finished it just in time to take in the Florentine Hall of Fame in the square outside the Uffizi. There are sculptures of all the heavy hitters from the Renaissance including Macchiavelli, Dante, Galileo, Donatello, Michelangelo and on, and on. It was like an outdoor walk through an intellectual Cooperstown.
Ponte Vecchio
We finished our walk at Ponte Vecchio, a beautiful bridge with its own incredible history (including being the only Florentine bridge to survive World War II) over the Arno River. The jewelry shops that line the bridge are still owned by descendants of the original owners from the 15th century.
View from the bridge
Florence
After completing our walk, we hunted our notes for a fun place to have dinner on our last night in Italy. We found just the place at Il Latini. The wait staff does their best to not hand out any menus, and they basically give you whatever they feel like bringing to the table. We strolled to our seats, which were at a table for four with two others who had arrived earlier (part of the Il Latini culture), and gazed above at the endless swine rumps hanging from the ceiling. The table had a huge bottle of half full red wine and the first course was nothing but pork in various forms. Needless to say, this wasn't the best culinary choice for Kate's taste, and she did her best. She asked for no meat for the main course and was given one plate of cheese and one plate of spinach...hilarious.
I'd like your vegatable entree. (spinach, side of
I had a gigantic veil roast like nothing I had ever seen, and fortunately it was delicious. We finished the meal with a chocolate covered panna cota, coffee, and endless dessert wine for Kate. They kept filling her glass because one older fella was the only one that could drop the check and he either took a nap, or was quite busy. The restaurant was buzzing with a variety of languages and the overall atmosphere was jubilant and festive. Despite challenges with the "menu", it was a great way to end our visit to Italy.
Chris said this tasted like Alpo
We'll retrace our steps through Rome tomorrow and will wind up in London for the night before catching our flight back to San Francisco on Sunday. It was quite fitting to end our journey in Florence, where so much of our current culture emerged centuries ago.
Comments
Eh Boss, what's your flight number and airline?
Your blogs read like a fantastic travel journal. I don't know which to drool over- the history and architecture or the delicious food. Loved the pics, will definitely have to make the Zucotto for Christmas, in celebration of your Florence visit. You both look SO wonderful and happy, we are thrilled by your enthusiasm. Happy trip home! Love you
Will miss the daily commentaries, pictures and journey. You certainly had a marvelous adventure and truly romantic sojourn. I thoroughly enjoyed journeying with you. Safe trip home.