going off tour

 After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to tell our regular guide how very disappointed I was not to have seen the 'David' when we were in Florence and ask if there was any way we could still arrange to see it.  I told her that my travel buddy and I were willing to give up the planned activity for day 7 (which was a cooking class) in order to see the 'David.' Many years ago I was an art teacher and lectured in Art History at IPFW so seeing the original works of art that I had studied and taught about was important to me.  Our guide, Vivien, suggested that we could take the train from Montecatini, where we were staying, to Florence, about an hour ride.  We decided to do this, made reservations for a tour of the Academy to see the 'David' and boldly set off on our un-guided adventure.  We found the train station, a 10 minute walk from our hotel, bought our round trip tickets for 13 euros each, not a bad price, rode the train to the Firenze (aka Florence) Centro station, and asking for directions many times, found our way to the Academy, located the tour group we were booked with, bypassing long lines of people along the way, and were in time for our tour. (We even had time for a quick gelato.) I didn't realize I had COVID at this point and just thought it was the crowds of people and the heat that was making me so weary.  It was all worth it though.  We saw the 'David' and many other fine works of art, made it back to the station in time for a late afternoon train, full of commuters, and finally back to Montecatini, patting ourselves on the back for having accomplished our solo adventure.  I must admit it did make me appreciate tour guides.  

'David' in the distance.  We walked through several galleries to get to this spot.

It's hard to explain the difference between the original and the copy that stands outside but when you see it you realize the detail and finish that make it almost breathe.

We were told that 'David' was originally commissioned to stand on top of the cathedral steeple, but the powers of the time decided that didn't seem quite appropriated so Michelangelo's 'David' stood at the entrance to a palace in a city square, where the copy is now, for a few hundred years until it was decided to bring it inside because of vandalism and weathering.  Now it stands protected inside a gallery with only two broken toes to show for it's rougher early years.  

COVID strikes...

 I don't have any special memories of the two towns we visited on day 6.  Siena has a 13th century marble cathedral and San Gimignano is famous for having a lot of towers, surviving from the middle ages.  Looking back, I realize that this was the first day I exhibited symptoms of COVID, but I just thought I was very tired from the previous days of site seeing.  All I wanted to do was sit around and eat gelato.  I highly recommend the lemon which I got every time but once.  My travel buddy convinced me that I really should try another flavor so I got mocha once and promptly dropped a glob on my white jeans.  So much for variety.  Did I mention that the temperature was near 90 each day?  My big brimmed sun hat, that I bought in Spain many years ago, came in very handy indeed. But enough complaining.  We had a nice air-conditioned bus for our rides from town to town and saw so much that was beautiful everywhere.

The bell tower of the marble cathedral.  If it leaned it would be as famous as Pisa's tower.  The details were exquisite.

A view of part of the front with the sun lighting up the gold leaf triangles.

One of the many towers of San Gimignano, one of the last remaining walled cities in Italy.

Sometimes looking down a side street (or alley) reveals surprising layers.  
 

The best guide ever

During our time in Tuscany we stayed at one hotel (the one with the incredible zebra striped interior decor) for six nights and took daily drives to various historic sites.  At each site we would be greeted by a local guide who specialized in the area.  They generally gave very good tours with lots of historic information and lots of walking and many steps.  However, our guide on day 5, for the cities of Lucca and Vinci, was the best ever.  She really should have been on stage. She was a a native of Lucca and regaled us with stories of the many battles between the wonderful people of Lucca and their wicked adversaries in Pisa (the third city we visited that day). From her point of view everything bad that happened anywhere could be blamed on the people of Pisa.  When a car drove down the street a little too fast for her approval, she claimed that the driver was from Pisa.  She gave us plenty of history, but made it so enjoyable that we didn't even notice all the walking we were doing.  In the evening we had another lovely dinner at a vineyard/ B&B.  Even more delicious than the first. 

Our vivacious little guide in the city of Lucca.

Somehow this shot makes the cathedral lean and the tower look straight.  Blame it on a tired photographer. The tower (the bell tower of the church) is interesting but the beauty of the Pisa cathedral should not be overlooked.  

Our last city of the day was Vinci, birthplace of (who else) Leonardo da Vinci.  It had a wonderful museum with carefully constructed working models of many of his inventions and his sketches and notes.

Sunset over the vineyard, so peaceful and beautiful.

Out of order, sorry.  This round building, the Baptistry of the Pisa cathedral should also be appreciated in its own right. 

Something different...

After the previous very busy day of walking all over Florence, day 4 offered us a delightful change of pace. We visited the Bay of Poets, Porto Venere and the UNESCO-protected Cinque Terre.  If you haven't heard of any of these places, don't worry, neither had I.  What it is is a long coastline (part of the west coast of Italy), featuring five  villages (cinque terre) famous for their colorful houses, which we viewed from a boat with a few shore excursions, and, at the end of the day, a train ride back to our bus.  

You can see, on this stroll through one of the villages, how different the buildings look from the buildings of Florence.

The arches support the railroad track which helped open the area to tourists in the 1950s. Above are the terraced vineyards.  Wine was the major source of income for the area for generations.  Now it's tourism.

This is a good example of how the very colorful houses have been built up into the hillsides.

Another view.  I liked the tower, and the blue, blue sky.

It occurred to me that these buildings look like the back drop for a musical production.  It really was a beautiful boat ride.

a slight delay....

 After enjoying a wonderful performance by the philharmonic yesterday evening (the PFW site isn't as beautiful as the Embassy but the sound was excellent so I will adjust) I had just settled down to write my blog when the lights went out.  Not just my lights, the entire building was dark.  Since I can't type when I can't see the keyboard, and having received a text from I&M assuring all of us that the lights would be back on by 3am, I went to bed.  So here I am writing an early morning blog.  

I have traveled in Italy before but I had never been to Florence or Rome, two big items on my bucket list, so I was very excited to be heading for Florence on day 3.  It was a beautiful city to explore and to shop in.  I did indulge in a little souvenir shopping at the "Gold Corner" which was also, conveniently, our meeting place at the end of our free time.  As part of the Florence experience we had been promised a tour of the Academy, where Michelangelo's original 'David' is displayed, or the Medici's Palazzo Vecchio, depending on availability.  As it turned out, we toured the palazzo, which was a lovely building with some beautiful art work and lots and lots of steps, but not what I was hoping to see.  Don't worry, my travel buddy and I rectified this situation. You'll hear about that on day 7.

I really like the style of this church, one of the first we saw in Florence. Notice the Star of David at the top.  This is a Christian church but the architect was Jewish and was encouraged to add this nod to his heritage.

A close up of details on the Duomo, the main cathedral of the city. The three colors of marble used together are a hallmark of Italian Renaissance architecture and one of the things I really wanted to see in Florence.

The outside 'David,' a very good copy, but not the real thing.  The original was moved indoors many years ago to protect from weather and vandalism. 

A classic view of Florence, so beautiful.

My travel buddy and I at the end of a long, weary day.  We have been friends since high school and have taken several trips together. I'm more organized and keep us on time, but she spots signs and figures out where we need to be more quickly, so we make a good team. 

food, lots of food

 Whoever decided that the Mediterranean diet is good for you must not have feasted in Tuscany.  On the evening we arrived there, we were driven to a 'delightful regional restaurant' which was also a B&B (12 rooms) with a vineyard, and olive orchard, and lovely rolling scenery all around.  We dined outside in a patio area while music played and people laughed.  A few tables away from us, a wedding celebration was in full swing.  We were served locally produced wine and lots of food.  We discovered that a typical meal included an antipasto dish of olives (I love olives), cheeses, sliced tomatoes, pesto and more.  Then came a pasta dish, and then the meat and potatoes.  Of course all of that was followed by dessert and more wine.  It was a chilly but lovely evening.  I even danced a little.

This is a stairway in the patio area where we ate.  I think it's lovely.

Here is an interior shot of St. Peter's Basilica that I forgot to include yesterday.  We were allowed to take pictures there, unlike the Sistine Chapel which comes later in the trip.

This really doesn't do it justice but the Tuscany landscape is beautiful.  I didn't expect mountains but they run the length of Italy. The grayish trees in the foreground are olive trees.  

Once upon a time...

 two intrepid travelers, friends since high school, took off to explore parts of Italy and Greece.  First success, we made it through the Charlotte Airport (the first of several airport adventures) and on to our overnight flight to Rome.  Day one was spent with views of Rome and dinner with our fellow travelers. There were 45 of us on a Trafalgar tour, a first for us.  Day two was when things got really interesting.  We spent the morning touring St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, then took our first bus ride, from Rome to the city of Montecatini in Tuscany.  A lovely little city with a unique hotel.  The beds were comfortable and the shower was good but the decorating was very strange. Picture frames, lamps, mirrors, chairs, all adorned with heavy curls and swirls and upholstered with zebra striped fabric, heavy drapes, dark red bed spreads, you get the idea.  Happily, most of our time spent in that room was with our eyes shut. No, I did not take a picture.

The biggest thrill for me was seeing Michelangelo's "Pieta" in St. Peter's Basilica.  Sadly, these days it's behind glass (sorry for the blurry picture) because of vandalism a few years ago.  I do not understand a desire to deface anything so beautiful.

A quick view of our faithful bus.  We had an excellent driver which is a really good thing.  Italian traffic is astonishing, but more about that in a later blog.

Exterior view of St. Peter's Basilica, where the Pope greets the faithful.  We got there early and didn't have to stand in line too long.  The line was much, much longer by the time we left.  So many people.  Thankfully Tuscany wasn't so crowded.