Fine arts in Firenze

Trip Start Feb 10, 2006
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Trip End Mar 01, 2006


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Sunday, February 19, 2006

We caught our first intercity train in Europe from Rome to Florence. We'd heard so many horror stories about robberies and unpleasant journeys that we'd prepared for the worst - especially because we'd opted to travel in the '2nd class' seats on the Eurostar. Fortunately the train exceeded all of our expectations! It was extremely comfortable, far more luxurious than we'd imagined it to be, and the journey was surprisingly pleasant. The Italian countryside is just so lovely, it'd be a shame to fly between cities and miss it.

We were approached by a friendly, older gentleman at the train station who managed to sell us a room at his guesthouse for three nights. The room was simple but warm and the bathroom was close-by. We had absolutely no idea at the time that it was in a highly populated and central part of town. The noise made by other residents kept us up most nights, the highlight being a three hour shouting match between an American couple in another building, with a balcony facing ours David replica - some one get this guy a loin cloth
David replica - some one get this guy a loin cloth
 . By 4am that morning, we'd built up enough courage to ask them to keep the noise down, which thankfully they did, allowing us to get a little bit of sleep before the bright-eyed Italians started crooning at around 7:30am.

We had big plans for our time in Tuscany - a day trip to San Gimignano, Siena, wine tasting and a look at Pisa's leaning tower. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to cross any of those off of our list and in fact, we're suffering from a bit of 'cultural guilt' for opting no to endure the two hour wait for a visit to the Palazzo Degli Uffizi. Consequently, we've missed some of the world's most recognisable Renaissance masterpieces. Oops......But the weather was the coldest and wettest that we've experienced while we've been away and Clinton was not well with a shocking cold and fever.

While we didn't quite manage to do all of things that we wanted to do, we did have a couple of lovely, very leisurely strolls around the city, incorporating a spot of shopping and a little sight-seeing. We marvelled at the Duoma and some of Florence's fine churches, crossed the Ponte Vecchio and enjoyed a (very wet) walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to see stunning views of the city. We also ventured out to the Tuscan countryside for one day and wandered around some of the very picturesque local villages.

We're a little disappointed that we didn't get the most out of this alluring city that gets rave reviews from so many travellers. Perhaps our whirlwind tour of Rome left us feeling a little weary and jaded? If it's any consolation, despite the noisy accommodation, we had a couple of 'Sunday' kind of days, and left Florence feeling far more relaxed than we did when we arrived!
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