Monday, last day here in Florence

Tomorrow morning, I must get up at 4am, leave by 5am and drive back to Milan. Return the car, have someone from the office drive me to the airport, but at lest this last day, I spent walking around areas of Florence I have never been to. Probably over 4 hours walking.

I headed east from the Ponte Vecchio bridge (see pic to left) down along the via Lungarno delle Grazie. This busy streets runs along the Arno River.

I crossed over at the Ponte San Niccolo bridge and made my way up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. This is just before I started the long climb to the top.

I cannot express how empty the city is compared to when I was here two years ago. Maybe because it is fairly cool (around 50 degrees, maybe 55). when I reached the piazzale Michelangelo, there were less than sixty people besides some vendors. Usually, there are hundreds.

There is an old wall North of the Arno (see pic). I knew there was a road down there so I decided to follow it just to see. Everything on this side of the river is uphill, unlike on the other side of the Arno where walking is fairly level.





I took a few different pictures from angles that are not the norm. I must admit, it was a pretty cold day. Only when the sun came out, did it feel comfortable and the wind has been up too.

Here is a picture looking back at Piazzale Michelangelo - as you can see, there are very few people up there and this was around 1pm.





I walked up hill until reached Fort Belverdere, where I then descended down Costa di S Giorgio, a simple residential area. It lead back to the Ponte Vecchio bridge (picture below).

There is way too many things here to do and I think one needs to come back and experience little bits at a time. It has been a fabulous vacation again.

Saturday night opera

I actually had the opportunity to attend an opera last night here in Florence. It was held at St Marks English Church. There were four singers and just a few props. The opera was Verid's La Travita. I cannot express how beautiful their voices were and how the acoustics sounded in the church. It was small and intimate. The actors were only a few feet away. It wasa very special treat for me. I took a few photos, but it was difficult for obvious reasons. However, here are a couple I think turned okay - they are still a little grainy, but it gives you an idea.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore - Duomo

Last time I was here, I did not get a chance to visit inside the Duomo. This time I did and I am glad. I am over using the word "beautiful" but that is how it is here. Everything is breath-taking.

To climb the stairs to the very top, one must purchase tickets and take part in a guided tour. The tour starts on ground level where the guide (a young bella Italian woman) tells you many facts about the church. After a bit, you begin the first climb, up the first 150 steps until you reache the first tier terraces (which I didn’t know existed). Here you see beautiful views looking South. There is room enough for several hundred people onthis wide terrace, unlike the top of the dome; which is some 300 more steps. The guide leads you to front of the church and you can look down to the Baptistery, then walk along a very narrow ledge (luckily, it has the 4 foot stone rail-wall) and go through a low door, drop down a few steps into the inner walkway, just below the Dome Fresco. I've added a picture here so you can get an idea.

You then walk about 50 feet, then back up and out on to another small ledge and find yourself on the other side of the lower terrace looking off North.

This terraces leads to the entrance to the final steps leading up to the very top of the Duomo. It is a difficult climb – very steep and steeper even more. The passage way is room enough for a small man, so when meeting someone coming down the exact same way, one has to back up or squeeze by if the size permits. It is very tight.
You can spend as much time as you like at the top.
Here is one picture of one of the views

Florence, Italy... again

I arrived in my hotel room at 2pm. The weird thing is, every day I was to arrive at my hotel, has been right at 2pm – very weird. I certainly didn’t plan it that way.

To back up a bit: I left Cortona around 10:15. I headed towards another small town called Arezzo, as it was on my way to Florence. I am glad I did. Not because I stopped here, but this road, SS71 led me up into the mountains again. I cannot express how beautiful the views are, one after another. The roads are steep and twisting. It reminded me between driving in the mountains of Arkansas. Hairpin turns taken at 30mph and very steep grades. The problem is, there is never a good place to pull over and take pictures. It was very frustrating. I took some video out my front windshield, but honestly, I don’t know well it translate onto a tv/video. Nevertheless, I took for my own personal memory as it was remarkable.

Using my TomTom navigation device, I wanted to drive through Fiesole, which is North of Florence. Again, the views down onto Florence were stunning. I hope to take a bus back up to Fiesole to do some research for my novel. I was able to get a couple of snapshots from here. I then followed my directions to the Hotel across the street from the Santa Maria Novella church. Driving through these small cities is difficult at best and easy to get lost. Had I not had the navigation device, who knows how long it would’ve taken.

I had a wonderful lunch in the piazza Santa Maria Novella. I’ve attached a couple of pictures.

From Venice to Cortona

I chose to visit the small town of Cortona because two years ago, it was on our list of places to visit, but we never did. My two friends I think really wanted to see it. I am not sure why there was no time, but we didn’t get to it. So I drove from Venice to Cortona. I arrived to a spectacular view of this small town sitting on the side of a hilltop. Once here I can see why my friends wanted to visit the small little town. I found the hotel without much trouble and had to drive the car up a very steep grade and narrow street to get to it. The hotel staff parked my car, I checked in, then I was off to explore Cortona. You better be in some kind of good shape for this town. Walking is up and down hill, and it is very steep. Here you could use that old saying, “I walked to school in the snow up hill – both ways’. That is exactly how you feel as you walk around.

The views of the country side are breath taking and reminds me of Montalcino, which is actually very close. It was difficult to choose which photo, as I had so many beautiful one's to choose from. Some people may remember the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun” which was filmed here and probably why my friends wanted to visit.

My room is very Tuscany with the high wooden ceilings and long flowing drapes on the windows. There is no view outside the window but the building across the small street. But I was not complaining. :-)

from Bergamo to Venice

The drive was quite lovely, though it was difficult to pull over while on the autostrada (toll road). I think tomorrow when I head to Florence, I will take non toll roads, so it is easy to pull over to take a photo.

I arrived at my hotel around 1:30pm thanks the TomTom navigator my Italian friends lent me. Even with that, it was difficult to take the right roads at time. After a two hour nap, I headed to Venice, which was about 10 minutes from the hotel via bus. The hotel clerk gave me a bus pass and explained what to do. I must admit, it was a little stressful, unsure of how to use the machine, what bus stop, where to get off, but it was manageable. Stepping off the bus onto Venice island was a real treat. The pictures one sees, then to actually be there was breath-taking. The first picture is what I saw as I stepped away from the bus onto the Grand Canal. It was already 5:30 and it would be dark in an hour. I walked for what seemed like hours trying to get to famous piazza San Marco square, where all the pigeons are. If it wasn’t for the signs “sort” of directing you, I would have never found the place. It was all so beautiful, but there is so much here to see and do, and my time was very limited. I tried to slow my pace and I did many pictures, but after awhile, every street looks just like the last one. Luckily, I had purchased a map at the hotel and one really needs one. Going down alleys and winding through very narrow streets in the dark is not for the shy. I felt safe at all times, but it was anxious nevertheless. The crowds were very small. I was able to see the square and travel the narrow streets with relative ease, which is not the usual case, as Venice, like Florence in the high season is should to shoulder people.

Since I did not have time to sit and eat a meal, I simply grab a panni sandwich and espresso. I had not eaten since earlier this morning. After making my way back to bus area and several blind alleys plus it was now dark, which I then had to double back, I made it to the bus. The bus is mass transit, and mostly working Italians are on it – not many tourist. I had no clue where to get off or where my stop was or how to tell the driver. I just remember, the hotel clerk said try and push the stop button when you reach the round-about. Coming back, I thought there must be dozens of round-abouts – which one I thought? I timed the bus trip and added a couple of minutes. We hit a round-about (the first one), and started driving down this street, which sort of looked familiar, but who knows in the dark. Nevertheless, when the bus stopped (others were exiting), I decided to exit too. I started walking in the direction of the hotel (I hoped) and sure enough, I was on the right street. So, I guess I got lucky. No problems.

here is a little video I put together. again it is has not been edited.

Tuesday night in Milan

My boss, Alberto, took me to dinner in Milan at a friend's restaurant, which was small and friendly. Before hand, he took me on a walking tour, as Alberto lives in the city center of old Milan. We had a beer first at a local pub and watched all the beautiful ladies walk by. Actually, I didn't think the woman were as beautiful as many are in America. When then walked. Where I can not say exactly, as I was not expecting to be toured, so I had done no research on Milan. Later, I will come back to this post and fill in exactly what I saw. Until then, am posting this video. This is all at night and some of is jittery. It is raw, unedited video, but it gives an ideal of the beauty of Milan.