From Florence to Rome

Today we moved to our final destination before our trip ends. We are now on Rome Italy.  A chaotic, busy, loud city.  Thousands of cars and people bustling around going in every direction under the sun.  It is "cross the street at your own risk"  kind of place.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that our apartment is located within easy access to the Pantheon and the Colosseum  and other major sites to see while we are here.
Our first meal was in an area known as the Jewish Ghetto.  Very few restaurants were open because today is Shabbat, but we managed to find one "gentile" eatery open for business.  "Il Giardino Romano".
Our first stop was the Pantheon.  It almost seems incredible that a building  can withstand  over 2,000 years.  As we stood and admired the ancient building, we couldn't help but wonder what those walls would say if asked what they have seen in all those centuries of existence.  Who has entered? Who has worshiped within the confines of the building.  We were fortunate to enter the Pantheon without charge  (everywhere including public restrooms charge a fee here).  The building is now a Roman Catholic Church known as:  "Saint Mary and the Martyrs".  A mass was about to take place so we eventually had to leave,  but we consider ourselves blessed to walk though the doors of such a historical place.
After the Pantheon we walked over to the Trevi fountain, only to find a sea of people standing around.  Impossible to admire and take pictures, we will have to come in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow.
We look forward to a full and busy day tomorrow.  We plan to go to the Spanish Steps, the Roman Hard Rock Cafe' (we can't leave without our Rome cap/hat) and as much as we can see while riding the Hop on Hop off.
For now
Arrivaderci

Plaza MichaelAngelo

We had agreed that today would be the most relaxed day in Florence, spent mostly shopping for our souvenirs and taking our final pictures around our apartment.  At the end it turned out to be anything but relaxing.  We started by having a typical Italian breakfast of Panini sandwich and hot chocolate, then we walked over to the fountain of Neptune to take pictures. We squeezed in the shopping all while on a tight schedule timed by our dear son Alec.  It was a mere 60 min, then the alarm went off.
Fortunately we had time to eat some carbs (again) pizza, pasta and salad.
Our next stop was Boboli Gardens (so that's where the name comes from!).  A beautiful place to go and take pictures of the city, which means of course we had to climb quite a bit of stairs to get there.
Finally we walked up to Plaza MichelAngelo, a place also high above the city, which also meant walking up several flight of stairs.  In total Alec's Nike fuel band recorded over 14,000 steps taken today.  Compared to a typical day back home of  2,000  steps. It is clear how much we have traveled in one day.
Good Night is perhaps the best thing to say after all that  walking.
Good night,

Ciao

Under the Tuscan Sun

                                       

Thanks to the recommendation of our friend Pablo, we purchased a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano   We are happy that we followed advise and even happier that we have friends with good taste like us:-).  

Siena is a small and aristocratic town roughly about an hour away from Florence.  It is where the Il Paliotakes place every year (a horse race around the small town. Our tour guide also said it was a stop during medieval times for people traveling.  We loved Siena because it has no street vendors, no beggars and it is immaculate  clean. There are beautiful cathedrals (as there are in most of Europe) with rich history.  The road we traveled from Florence to Siena and Siena to San Gimignano  reminded us of the roads in Northern CA in Napa.  Hilly, green with many vineyards.  I would imagine that if Italians travel to Northern Ca they would be reminded of Tuscany.   

Our second stop was San Gimignano a town  that adopted it's name around 450 A.C.   It is known for its towers of which only 14 remain; however in 1300 there were at least 72.  They (the towers) are the result of competition, among the most influential families in the city, the higher the tower the wealthier.  Even though centuries have past the old world charm remains and the prestige can be observed in the beauty that has been preserved.  

We have learned much about Tuscan history today and have gotten in over 9,000 steps according to Alec's Nike fuel band.  It is definitely time to get some rest.   

Ciao, Ciao 

Buona Notte 

Two Duomos in one day.

Five years ago we when we traveled to this continent we had the opportunity to climb the 667 stairs at the Eiffel Tower.   Today it was less stairs,  463to be exact, but much more perilous and exhausting.  The stairs are more like a ladder in some parts and in others they wind and wind and wind in complete circles. So much so that we could feel the dizziness even a few hours later. The space where the stairs are contained is also significantly reduced, thus giving you a feeling of cluster phobia.  All the climbing and dizziness was well worth it once you reached the top and got a glimpse of the beauty of Firenze.  The red tile roofs of every building created picture opportunities seen from anywhere on top of the Duomo.   All would have been picture perfect had it not been for the one of us that is afraid of heights (for those of you that follow our vacation blogs, it's the same one that didn't want to go up the Eiffel Tower five years ago).  We won't name names but pictures will be the unintentional evidence.  

In the afternoon we had scheduled a day trip to see the leaning tower of Pisa.  As much as we had seen it in pictures,  calendars, textbooks, souvenirs, it was a real treat to see it in person.  We took the traditional pictures and will post them all when we get home.  

How giving these 24 hours have been, for in the course of this day we have been able to cross off two items off the bucket list.  In the spectrum of life, it's a pretty good accomplishment we would say.  

Now to give our aching, aching feet some much needed rest.  

Buona noite.   

Uffizi & Academia Museums

Our first complete day in Florence was much better than our arrival.  We got up early since we had reservations at the Uffizi museum, first thing in the morning.  This is  a museum with art dating back to to centuries before Christ (B.C.).  It would have been more enlightening if we had a walking guide to point out details about the different era's and styles the artists used in their paintings.  

In the afternoon we toured the Academia museum, where the famous sculpture The David stands.  You need not be an Art major to appreciate it's beauty.  The detail in every part of it's body is amazing (no pun intended) and what a wonderful use of a colossal piece of marble, MichaelAngelo was without a doubt gifted as an artist.  

Our final destination today was the Ponte  Vecchio,  an old bridge featured in most of Firenze's paintings, drawings and calendars with this city's best sites. It is indeed beautiful to admire.  Specially in the afternoon as the sun is setting. 

The colors of the sun reflected in the river that runs by, and all the old buildings are mesmerizing.  Florence you are an enchanting city to admire, we are overjoyed that we get more days to explore your beauty and sites.  Until tomorrow

Arrivaderci.  

Firenze

We did not do much today except travel by train to Florence.   Everything from leaving

Venice to arriving in Florence was uneventful.  Nice train, smooth ride, timely service.  Unfortunately a vacation without rain or some difficulty is not a vacation for us.  This time we eluded the rain but had difficulty tracking down the apartment manager where we were scheduled to stay.  We spent 2 hours at the train station trying to reach him from a public phone (yes they still exist in Europe).  Finally the company that made our arrangements provided some support and helped us reach him so we could get the key to the apartment we are staying in.  Although the apartment is nice and clean and with room enough for us three there is a musky smell that we can't seem to get rid of even with the entire can of Fabrezee.   Don't the Febreeze advertisements say it works on anything?  Will have to make some calls when we go back home :-) 

Tomorrow we anticipate a busier happier day.  We have reservations for the Uffizi and the Academia.  We also plan to climb the Duomo so we can get a complete view of the city of Firenze.  Hope all goes as planned.   

Murano, Burano, St. Mark Square

                                                     

Think of Italy and many things come to mind like pasta, pizza, boot shape country,  the leaning tower of Pisa. Today we experienced all except the tower of Pisa (that is coming in the next few days).  But we did see a leaning tower in the island of Burano.   Why doesn't anyone come and see the leaning tower of Burano?  Perhaps because there are so many other picture taking opportunities,   Burano is the island with the bright colored old houses.  Legend says that fishermen painted their homes in bright colors so they could identify them when they were at sea.  What a picturesque charming island It is.  We hope to share a few pictures on this blog, wi-fi permitting.  

To get to Burano we had to take the Vaporetto ( water bus, public transportation between the islands), this forced us to get off on the island of Murano and explore a little before heading to Burano.   Murano is known for it's fired glass figures, vases and other colorful artifacts that they create with much detail.  Beautiful works of art that were worth taking the time to see.  

In the afternoon we came back to Venice to ST. Mark square and to ride a gondola.  We were able to enjoy the square but the Gondolas will have to wait perhaps a decade, perhaps less but we will have to come when it does not rain like it has today.  

We could not leave St. Mark square without feeding the heavy overweight pigeons, Alec was able to hold a few pigeons on his hand and said they felt heavy, probably from all the 

food they are getting from tourist that don't obey the "do not feed the Pigeons sign"  a fun experience for anyone that enjoys that kind of activity.  

Tomorrow we leave rainy Venice and head to Florence, thunder is predicted for there, but sunny the rest of the week.  Let's just hope we have gotten our fair share, if not we are going to Africa next year.  Where it never, ever, ever, rains.