Friday, October 12th, 2007

I woke up at the villa around 7:30am and packed my few remaining belongings. My suitcase was already at the hotel in Florence. I made coffee and found the gift and card Ed'Veeje and Raquel had left me. I sipped my coffee reading their card, then wondered if they made it to the airport okay. They had to be there at 6:30am.

I video taped the villa so I could remember my week here. Video taped and took pictures of our view. Once I figure out how to edit my videos and upload, I'll post a couple.

I left some Euros on the table for our utilities as instructed, then I locked everything up, slid the key under the mat and drove back to Florence.

Driving into Florence was pretty easy. I went back to Piazza Michelango and stayed up there for about an hour simply taking in Florence before returning my rental car. As I returned the car, I drove down into the heart of Florence. The motorcycles surrounded me. Like dozens of little bees humming around my car, all I could do was just hold my line. The cyclist had done this hundreds of times, so I didn't worry about them and just drove normally, carefully not to make sudden moves. I drove across Ponte Trinita again, with Ponte Vecchio just to my right. I actually videtaped it a little as I crossed the bridge. It was so surreal. I turned left on Lungarno which runs along the Arno, finding my way to via Ognissanti, where the rental agency was. I am still amazed at all the cars hiding under these centuries old buildings. While you hear a lot about how crazy driving is in places like Florence or Rome, I don't think it was that bad. I'd like to see some Italians try driving in Dallas or Houston. I realized the real difference between driving here and there are the speeds. It is easy to stop or pull out in front of people when the speed you are going is less than 30 mph. What makes it seems faster is how narrow and small things are. It amplifies the sensation. I pulled into the rental place's garage, turned in the car and I was on my way.

I walked back to my hotel carrying my back pack. It was only a few blocks and a ten minute walk. My room wasn't ready, so I dumped off the backpack and headed out again. I stopped off a couple of doors down to a little wine and sandwich shop. The girl behind the counter was very pretty and she was kind to this American. It was 11:15 and I needed some food desperately. The sandwich and pastry filled the need. I bought some water and began exploring Florence again.

I ended up down in the San Lorenzo Market looking at all that was for sell. I started thinking about who I might buy a souvenir for. I had to keep it small since I had very little room in my bag. I had to buy my friend Bob something because he gave me an old 5 euro he had from a previous trip from years ago, and I wanted to get my friend Sam'e something. She has become such a dear friend. There are few people I would do anything for, and she is among the handful.
I got some ideas. I then hung out at the Piazza della Signoria under to Loggia until 1:00, then headed for my hotel to see if my room was ready. While at the Loggia, I was able to videotape two artist. One was actually writing music as they looked out at the crowds and the other was sketching. My videocamera stealthily zoomed in on their works, as if I was peeping over the shoulders. They were totally unaware of the intrusion as I focused in on their work. I thought how appropriate to capture artist at work where Renaissance art began.

The room was a suite this time. It was large and nice, and much more typical of what I had imagined an Italian hotel room to be. I tried to take a nap but I was keyed up, so I repacked my suitcase and reorganized it. I then headed up to the tower terrace where I read and journaled and enjoyed the view again. I spent a lot of time up on the terrace and I could have spent much more time there. It was beautiful and peaceful.