I love Florence. I love Florence so much more than I expected. I love Florence so much, that this is the other city that I really want to go back to.
Day 9 - We leave Bologna (no tears here), and arrive in Florence. We sat with a nice, older Italian couple who couldn't speak much English, but they were amused by our chattering. At least we didn't annoy them.
Anyway, we disembark in Firenze, and take a very short cab ride (really, we could've walked, but didn't realize it) to our hotel. This was probably my favorite hotel - and I wish I had the name near me. We rang the bell, and the owner came down, and carried my heavy suitcases up a very large staircase to his small hotel on the second floor. This establishment had perhaps 5-7 rooms and was run by a man and his parents. Very quaint, very little air-conditioning, and a fantastic location. One thing I learned about Florence - literally, everything is within walking distance. Even for two very tired American girls.
After we leave our luggage, we go out to find food. Oh, we found food. We found food in the market straight from heaven. We first stumbled upon the leather market - blocks of wonderful-smelling purses, jackets, belts, journals, vests, etc. in every color imaginable. Truly, this is the leather of Italy. I was amazed (but not so much that I didn't partake in haggling). 2 purses and 2 wallets later, we then found the food market attached to the leather stall. Oh, the wonders of this Aladdin's cave of food! Balsamic vinegars, mushrooms, olive oils, pastas, fresh meats (some with the heads still on), cheeses, breads. This was the market I was hoping for in Bologna. And I was hungry. We found a stall with a man making fresh sandwiches to order. I had a prosciutto and cheese sandwich on ciabatta bread, with artichokes, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. It was huge and it was heaven. He sliced the meat and cheese, and there was nothing "unfresh" about this one.
We bid a sad farewell after getting our sandwiches - we had some art to see. Museums in Italy take reservations, and we reserved for the Accademia and the Uffizi. Day 9 was the Uffizi.
I love art - especially Renaissance Art (and Flemish, but I wasn't expecting to see many Flemish paintings here). I was amazed at the Caravaggios and the Botacellis, to name a few - to see "The Birth of Venus," "Primavera," "Portrait of Lucrezia," portraits of Medicis, AH! Such beautiful masterpieces that give us a great insight to Italian history and culture. My favorite was the room with "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus." Botacelli has such passion in his color and topics, and we sat, staring at the beauty these paintings possess.
Saddened to leave, but deeming it necessary, we left with a greater knowledge and appreciation for Italian art. This, so far, was the best art museum we had been to (only to be challenged by the Borghese Gallery in Rome). We bought some prints, and now my classroom has several on display, and I will use them when teaching Shakespeare/the Renaissance.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to stare at the splendor of the Duomo. I had seen churches all over England, Paris, and now Italy, but was surprised at the beauty of this one. Michealangelo's dome looms over the city, and the colors of the mosaics create peaceful lines and eye-popping wonder. In the evenings, shadows cast upon the buildings create almost a mythical and mysterious feel. The buildings, shut tight, held secrets - I was sure. Secrets of Catholicism, secrets of the artists and masons who spent their blood creating this gift to God and royalty. We ended up not going in - visitors were not allowed that day, and my one regret about this trip was that I never got to go inside. Perhaps next time.
Next entry: Day 10 - Florence - Bike Rides and a Naked Man
Friday, December 28, 2012
Day 8: Bologna
Wow. Sorry for never finishing my entries on Europe! I'm about to embark upon another foreign adventure, but I figured I'd go back and continue writing about the last one before I begin the new one.
Day 8 - Bologna
I was really excited about this branch of our trip. Cuisine from Bologna is world-renowned, and after watching "Around the World in 80 Plates," I was really hoping to try some really good pasta.
So we left Verona early in the morning for another train ride. This one was rather brief, and we arrived in Bologna in enough time to go to a market and eat lunch before resting.
We arrived at our hotel, dropped off our belongings, and hit up a local market. Jamie and I LOVE markets, and I was really hoping for some good eating. Alas, this very large market was more like a flea market, and it was quite disappointing - full of garage sale clothes, cheap bags, and perfume. We searched carefully, hoping to find that something special. It wasn't meant to be.
Leaving the market, we walked to the center of town - and what a pleasant sight! We found a large square, surrounded by restaurants. The neatest thing is that in the middle of the square was a large movie screen and hundreds of fold-out seats. We stumbled upon a film festival, and the night before was a Hitchcock film. We stumbled upon a small cafe near there, where I ate a yummy cheese ravioli with leeks. Superb.
After an enjoyable meal (complete with white wine, of course), we decided to take a long-needed rest. We had been doing a great deal of walking, traveling, stair-climbing, etc. and we needed a nap. We got lost on our way back to our hotel, but found a grocery store. Intrigued, we entered this wonderland of Italian food. This grocery was nothing like your typical American monstrosity. This one, typical of Italian groceries, was tucked in a street and was about 1/4 the size of a Kroger. That said, we were amazed by the little, unexpected delights: mozzarella balls for 1 euro, 6 huge figs for 2 euro. Wine in little boxes (think Hi-C or Caprisun). An amazing array of local wines decently priced.
Loaded down with goodies, we stumbled back, exhausted, to our hotel. Finally allowed in our room, we fell upon our beds - and then I went "ouch" - not a soft place to land. :-) But the bathroom worked fine, and the room was rather large for European standards. We flipped on the television and attempted to watch an Italian soap opera - and had great fun making up the lines because we couldn't figure out what they were saying!
4 hours of sleep and rest, and it was time to go back to the square - we had a food market to find. Remember, my expectations were pretty high - this was Bologna, after all. We found the market after passing high-end designer stores, but were disappointed in the smallness of this market.
Overall, Bologna is pretty to look at. It does have a large tower, Europe's oldest university. But I must say that it was my least favorite city. Perhaps that's one city in which we need a tour guide.
Days 9-11, Florence, proved to be MUCH better than expected.
Cheers!
The Wandering Texan
Day 8 - Bologna
I was really excited about this branch of our trip. Cuisine from Bologna is world-renowned, and after watching "Around the World in 80 Plates," I was really hoping to try some really good pasta.
So we left Verona early in the morning for another train ride. This one was rather brief, and we arrived in Bologna in enough time to go to a market and eat lunch before resting.
We arrived at our hotel, dropped off our belongings, and hit up a local market. Jamie and I LOVE markets, and I was really hoping for some good eating. Alas, this very large market was more like a flea market, and it was quite disappointing - full of garage sale clothes, cheap bags, and perfume. We searched carefully, hoping to find that something special. It wasn't meant to be.
Leaving the market, we walked to the center of town - and what a pleasant sight! We found a large square, surrounded by restaurants. The neatest thing is that in the middle of the square was a large movie screen and hundreds of fold-out seats. We stumbled upon a film festival, and the night before was a Hitchcock film. We stumbled upon a small cafe near there, where I ate a yummy cheese ravioli with leeks. Superb.
After an enjoyable meal (complete with white wine, of course), we decided to take a long-needed rest. We had been doing a great deal of walking, traveling, stair-climbing, etc. and we needed a nap. We got lost on our way back to our hotel, but found a grocery store. Intrigued, we entered this wonderland of Italian food. This grocery was nothing like your typical American monstrosity. This one, typical of Italian groceries, was tucked in a street and was about 1/4 the size of a Kroger. That said, we were amazed by the little, unexpected delights: mozzarella balls for 1 euro, 6 huge figs for 2 euro. Wine in little boxes (think Hi-C or Caprisun). An amazing array of local wines decently priced.
Loaded down with goodies, we stumbled back, exhausted, to our hotel. Finally allowed in our room, we fell upon our beds - and then I went "ouch" - not a soft place to land. :-) But the bathroom worked fine, and the room was rather large for European standards. We flipped on the television and attempted to watch an Italian soap opera - and had great fun making up the lines because we couldn't figure out what they were saying!
4 hours of sleep and rest, and it was time to go back to the square - we had a food market to find. Remember, my expectations were pretty high - this was Bologna, after all. We found the market after passing high-end designer stores, but were disappointed in the smallness of this market.
Overall, Bologna is pretty to look at. It does have a large tower, Europe's oldest university. But I must say that it was my least favorite city. Perhaps that's one city in which we need a tour guide.
Days 9-11, Florence, proved to be MUCH better than expected.
Cheers!
The Wandering Texan
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