Parma Day 3

Saturday, April 28, 2007 4:30 in the PM
Good afternoon. I just got up from a nap with my husband. We didn’t even get up early so I don’t really have any justification to my naptime. We got up whenever we felt like it which turned out to be 8:30 or something. Ate the wonderful breakfast, this time had a boiled egg. Luke timed it for like 3 minutes. We got them and the white part was still clear so we made new ones and they were at 10 min and the yellow part was firm and gel like. Perfect. The yolks were so yellow they were almost red. I guess that means they are farm eggs. We took some more nutella to the room and got going. We headed to the Parma Ham museum in Langhirano, which is like 15 miles away, except it takes like 40 min to get to. It takes 15 minutes to get out of the city part of Parma and then you go through several small towns along the way. It was a very nice drive, we got to see some scenery and smell some pigs. I must say I am glad to smell the pigs intermittently through a car window rather than smell the sewers in Florence. I don’t know if we mentioned that interesting fact. Every once in a while you’d smell- along the street, in the elevator, you name it, a VERY strong smell. Like a dog took a fresh crap or someone uses that street for a toilet at night. We decided that it was the sewers that smelled. They were awful. Ok, then I’ll return to the subject at hand…pigs, yes pigs.
So we arrived at the small town Langhirano and found the museum. It had a large parking lot where there were a few cars like 6 or something parked, Luke noted that there were no tour buses. We went to where we guessed the entrance was, there was a little square where there was an empty café. We got the tickets that were €3 and were directed to the beginning of the exhibit. It was pretty low key. I could have given this presentation via powerpoint. They gave minimal information in English but the guide book, which was pretty thick considering the material presented on the walls (½ inch thick), was €8. TOO Much. The guidebook at the Uffizi was only €10 and that had copy written works of art. Oh well. We suffered through and gleaned what we could. There were lots of pictures and some pieces of equipment and a short movie was shown. To the defense of the Parma Museo del Proscuitto there was nothing much else for us to do food related (at this notice on a Sat) besides eat.
We saw this big castle on a hill on the way. A pamphlet we picked up talked about it. I was pretty excited to go there, even if we didn’t pay to go in, just go up there to see the view and take a few pictures of the castle. We went up there and it was also €3 each. We spent over an hour up there. They had a few interior rooms with the old frescoed décor on the walls. Luke and I have experience navigating through defunct castles a la’ Scotland. So we quite enjoyed that bit. The views were suberb, there was a bit of haze at the distant horizon. I don’t know if that was pollution or humidity. They also had a bed and breakfast beneath the castle walls but still up the STEEP hill. The little “village” was quaint and close together and I tried to take some lovely photos that are worthy of the mayo quarterly. We’ll see. While we were wandering around taking pictures we kept seeing all these lightning fast lizards, little and so quick that they are a blur. They kind of freak me out, almost like mice, they are so scary cause they are fast.
We left eventually and stopped at a HUGE Conad store (grocery store chain in Parma) and were quite satisfied to look around. Luke wanted some of the sugar substitute (we brought some with us for our own caffé in the AMs but they were drained in Florence between the 4 of us and we all drank coffee). We also got these chocolate fiber biscuits, they taste like a chocolate granola bar crossed with cracklin’ oat bran. We also bought a few half liters of milk and some chicken in a can, tralli crackers, and little bread stick like things. I got a pair of little thin beige socks that you wear under your dress shoes- mainly because my croc sandals squeak so bad with slightly sweaty feet, Luke got a jar of nutella (Conad brand) and some more €1.13 one and a half liter bottles of Fanta free and a new kind we tried that is lemon pop and tastes like a fake lemon soda like mountain dew with more lemon flavor. We got an orange flavor in that brand too. Much to my sisters dismay I should say that we have been enjoying Kinder brand Bueno chocolate bars. We got smart today and bought a 3 pack of them today, we also bought a 4 pack of the knock-off Duplos which are not as superior a product as the former. We each grabbed a pizza slice at the end of our trip to the store and ate that in the car as it was 2pm.
We arrived back to the hotel like 10-15 min later. For lunch we had a bit of makeshift tuna salad with a little tbsp of processed cheese, mustard, salt, pepper and senape (mustard to you non Italians) on potato chips. I must say it was very good. It almost reminded me of home. Not that Luke makes good tuna salad for me at home but it reminded me of my tuna salad I make at home. We drank some soda and I was the one who suggested the nap. Luke woke up a few minutes ago. We may go back to the same restaurant we were at yesterday. It was a very good restaurant but do we want to say we went to the same place twice? We want to get the fried pasta and meat. That’s what looked good. We’ll maybe go look at the city and it’s special churches lit. Maybe also go read in that park and relax in non touristy Italy. We’ll see. We’ll run now. ljf

Parma Tours

Friday April 27, 2007 5:00 p.m.

Another fine day in Parma. Lisa and I awoke early today to enjoy the wonderful continental breakfast. It was one of the better ones that I have had. (now Lisa writing) There was an automatic coffee machine you could have tea, cappuccino (italiano), caffé Americano, hot water, hot chocolate. They had a few different kinds of breads, a toaster, nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread), lots of different jellies, hams, boil your own eggs in a vat of boiling water with a timer, CEREAL with MILK, fruit, yogurt, biscuits (cookies you eat with your coffee), melba toast, red orange juice made from Sicilian blood oranges (I think we had these in Florence). It was a pretty good spread and not busy when we passed through. We got the machine cappuccino we saw the other people get caffé espresso from a lady away from the food at the bar, coffee bar that is. Luke took a handful of no cal sugar, we both took nutellas for our own use. It was a nice breakfast.
We had to scoot as we had the 8.15 appointment at the parmesan cheese place. We drove thanks to the Tom Tom GPS direction giver. Found the right area within a reasonable amount of time, it was relatively close to the hotel, without too much hassle. There was another couple waiting to take the tour with us. They were in their 50s and from California. There was supposed to be another couple too, but they didn’t show. The lady tour guide (Ingrisa or something) handed us our attire. There is a plastic jacket with snaps and blue shoe covers, a coffee filter hat for hair control and we were not required to wear the mask. By this time, I was SO very excited to partake in the parmesan cheese tour. When we got to go in the work area (it is not a factory- just run by farmers). We saw the vats that held 1200 L (or 317 gallons) of milk. And all that milk to make 2 wheels of cheese. The vats were big, but they were deceiving, as the vats were conical and descended below the ground level were the cheese makers were standing at. They had the milk where each vat is 1 farmer’s milk, (so if there is contamination with the cows milk or if they eat bad hay) it won’t wreck the whole days production.
The farmers work everyday- the cows can’t take a vacation. They milk twice daily of course and bring in the milk with in 2 hours of milking to keep it at its freshest. The morning milk is dumped in the vat, they use last nights milking that was skimmed after it sat all night. So you get “part skim” cheese. They want some of the fat from the am, but not all the fat from the pm batch. They add the rennet which is an enzyme that is reconstituted from suckling cows’ bellies from when they are slaughtered. The enzyme makes the milk curdle so they can digest it. So they add the rennet and heat it up a bit, stir it and watch it, let it set like an hour, stir it some more. Then they scoop the cheese chunk from the bottom with a HUGE oar and the helper scoops it up with a piece of cloth- oh, cheese cloth, and let it drain a bit and then they cut the cheese in half and make rough balls with the cheese cloth. They let it sit and then stuff it into forms (unfortunately I didn’t get to see this part). They put it into forms the next day or 2, then put it into metal forms and put plastic rim around it that has the date printed in raised pokies and has “Parmigiano Reggiano” written on it. The name is so special because only cows that live in the area and the cows can only eat food grown in the area can make cheese called Parmigiano Reggiano.
We were then taken to the brining room; they had eighteen 5 feet by 40 foot salt water swimming pools for the cheese wheels. They sit in sea salt brine for 22 days. Then they go to the cheese room. This one is my favorite. This is where all the cheese wheels are placed on shelves 40 feet tall. The smell in that room is unbelievable. Some of it is probably due to the humidity required to maintain adequate aging. The cheese ages at least 12 months to 30 some months. The cheese gets flipped at least daily, and they have a machine to do it now. I guess it was a big pain in the neck for the workers to do. Can you imagine climbing up and down from the ladder? The wheels weigh 60 pounds I believe. That would make big muscles. I took a lot of pictures. You should have seen me smile, I was so happy. I asked our nice English born tour guide if we could have a piece of the cheese that was just taken and formed from the vats. She asked the dudes and they obliged. It tasted like cottage cheese or something. It needed to be dipped in the salt brine for a sec. and that would have made it better. I was so happy. We went into the gift store and got some lemonciello and some cheese. This we’ll save and keep for use in the USA. Can’t wait!
We hopped in the car and went off to search for the Pasta Barilla plant. The TomTom GPS was not so much use for this part. It was taking us on the equivalent of a country gravel road. It was paved- I’ll give that much but it was 1 car width and we were following a tractor. We thought we may get there in the end but eventually had to turn around and turn off the GPS because it was directing us to take roads that are no longer there. We luckily could see Pasta Barilla. We had to use our brain and we got there, and a half hour early. Luke was wondering what this spot was on his pocket front of his pants. I told him it was probably just water from when he washed after using the toilet at the Parmesan place. He put the keys in his pocket and then took them out. He still had a butter packet from breakfast in his pocket. It had been warm and intact until we sat in the car. Then it squirted all over the keys and the hotel card and other stuff. I was really chuckling. I couldn’t laugh because lukie would feel bad. I thought it was hilarious. We used the tide pen and cleaned him and the stuff up well enough. Eventually we went into the complex and went through 2 barricaded entries and had to show ID to the dude at the tower. He called for Claudio Scala who was to give us the tour. Claudio is in his middle 30s, didn’t know much English but he knew how to give tours about his machinery in English. There is the largest pasta making place in the world. They make 120 shapes of pasta. They do semolina and egg based pastas. We had to put on a paper jacket and a hat again. He took us into the very noisy plant and showed us how the pasta was squeezed out into shape and cut to size and measured for QA and packaged and shipped. They have a storage area that is completely human free. Machines to all the stacking and organizing of the stock, that sounded pretty neat, we didn’t get to see that. Luke was so very interested in the plant, you could see the smile on his face, his eyebrows were raised and he was bouncy. He likes to know how things are made. Claudio brought us back to the changing room and didn’t really tell us the tour was complete cause he didn’t know how to say in English (we were lucky to get an English tour in the first place).
I took a picture of Luke in front of a huge silo with the sign on it. We would have taken more pictures but I don’t think we could have with corporate secrecy and stuff. We were grateful for the tour. It ended kind of abruptly like I described, a little less than an hour. We exited the compound and arrived to the Holiday Inn Express Compound at 1130.
We saw a pheasant in the hotel driveway that would not get out of the way. I (being the shutterbug I am) took a picture of him next to the hotel sign. While taking the picture, I saw something else that was kind of scary…A lizard! He was little and trying to scurry away (unlike the pheasant). Luke had to honk at the bird and eventually he left. What is interesting also is that on the way to the cheese farm- we almost HIT a pheasant. That would not have been good with the rental. Luke would have had to pick out feathers from the grill.
We went into the Hotel to perhaps to have lunch, but we changed our mind. We chose to go out for lunch so we wouldn’t have to eat so late (restaurants reopen around 7 pm for the evening meal) and because we wouldn’t have to spend so much money. Luke found a recommended restaurant called Trattoria Corrieri. It was pretty close to our parking ramp from what the map said. We walked around a bit and kind of looked for it a while, eventually finding it. It looked like a nice place. It had tons of seating if that is any indication as to how popular it is. We sat in the garden area. It was shaded by vines on an over head trellis of fine net wires. It provided enough shade and still let some sun through. The menu prices were €7 for each course. I had Risotto Parmisano, and Luke had ­­­Gramigna con salsiccia (homemade noodles and sausage). My risotto was a very large serving and delicious and mild, Luke’s was very good too. For secondi (second course) I chose Stracotto de Cavallo con polenta (roasted horse and polenta is like a corn meal porridge that I was interested in trying). Luke chose Bolliti Misti con Salse which was mixed meats with sauces. The meats were very questionable. Even when we asked we were not sure what they were. One was chicken or pheasant, another was horse, the others is anyone’s guess. One was tongue and tasted tender but I kind of gagged when I swallowed it caused it was tongue. The selection of braised meats, including the tongue was a pigeon leg, a boar sausage, horse, some sort of fatty meat with huge veins, and some polenta with brains. That is what I thought she told me after I asked about it. My stomach is still kind of turning thinking about the chow. Along with all these meats was a plate of three “sauces”. Well, the sauces turned out to be a bowl of tomato paste, some sort of parsley/basil pesto, and a sweet sauerkraut type sauce. These really weren’t sauces, they were more weird than anything. Plus they were cold. So I was totally turned off by this meal. I won’t do that again, but it was a learning experience. For dessert we had we ended up getting tiramisu and two caffé mochiato’s. Basically espresso with a little bit of steamed milk. I was surprised by the bill. It ended up being about 46€. So it wasn’t that bad. After we paid for our stuff, we took off to back towards the car. We ended up spending some time in the square that houses the National Museum of Parma. We sat around and watched the pigeons dink around. We then walked across the river to the large park that Parma has and sat around and people watched. Most of the people there in the park were high school kids and old people. Others were just passing through on their bikes. It was nice to just sit in the park and watch people dink around. Lisa also noticed that her awesome Ecco sandals are starting to wear, they actually have a hole in the ball of the foot. After we were getting tired, we got up and went back to the car. And then we realized that it was close to five, and it was bumper to bumper for a while, but we made it back home. I decided not to go back to the grocery store until later tonight, because the traffic was so horrible. I wouldn’t be able to get in our out. My stomach isn’t settling down with that dinner either. So now we are just sitting around waiting for the room to cool off, and maybe head to the grocery store. We will buy some more pop and wine I suppose. Since it is only ninety cents. Yippee! Tomorrow will be the tour of the Prosciutto Museum and more relaxing, and then we are off to Volterra, where we might have internet, we may not. Later ljf

Parma Day 1 and driving

Thursday April 26, 2007 5:30 p.m.
The Race is on! Today was the day that we left Florence to pick up a car at the Florence Airport and drive to Parma. This morning we cleaned again after breakfast, rechecked everything to make sure we didn’t leave anything, looked everything over again, and then left. Rodger, Beth, Lisa and Luke departed the apartment and navigated to the closest “A” bus to get to the train station. Rodger and Beth decided to leave for Siena for the day, and Luke and Lisa had to get to the airport (using the shuttle from the train station). The bus trip was long since we caught it on the first quarter loop, and we had to go the final three quarters to get to the train station. But it was nice, because we got on when nobody else was on, so we had our choice of seats. I was worried that they wouldn’t allow on our baggage, because in four languages it says in the bus that we can’t have any baggage over 10 kg, and certain dimensions. Well, none of the baggage that we had past their requirements, but the guy didn’t care. So we rode all the way to the train station. Rodger and Beth proceeded to show us where to get the connecting shuttle to the airport. Rodger showed me where to get tickets, and when I came out of the office, the bus arrived. It is like a big tour bus, where you put your luggage underneath and the chairs are on top of the luggage. We left Rodger and Beth to fend for themselves in Sienna and Lisa and I went to the airport. When the bus left the depot, I got to see a good look at how traffic systems in Florence were handled. Everybody is on their own. As long as you are on the right side of the road, nobody cares where they are. The traffic in downtown Florence was horrible. Of course, I am looking forward to the upcoming Doom of driving in Italy. I am comfortable driving in the states in high traffic, but this European traffic is different. Well, the half an hour trip was over, and we arrived at the airport. I would assume that the arrivals would have the car rental agencies. So we went into the terminal and walked back and forth looking for the car rentals. Well, we left the building and there was a building off the side of the arrivals/departure gates, so we went over there, and voila, there were the car agencies. Lisa and I made our way over there, and there were a couple of older people trying to get a car in the lane that I needed to be in. When I booked the car online, I basically went through a company that finds the best price, you pay that company, and then they get the car through Hertz or someone like that. Kind of like priceline. So the car that we were getting was from hertz. And that line also had somebody in it. So Lisa and I sat there for literally 20 minutes before the hertz line opened up. Thankfully I could go to that line and get my car. Plus the lady spoke very good English. After I signed my life away (through insurance and gas, etc) we got our keys and the location to the car. I must say when we went to the lot and saw the car, I was impressed.

It is a Fiat Panda. It is a cute little car, with four doors and a tailgate that opens up for some luggage. Lisa and I had to push the seat down to get ours to fit, but there was no problems after that. We got in the car, set up the TomTom, looked at all the damage, to make sure there wasn’t anymore, and started the car. Well, I decided to get a stick shift because it was about 250 dollars cheaper than an automatic. It has been a while though since I drove a stick though, so I had to get my bearings with the shifter (which is kind of situated near the CD player. Once I figured out how to get into reverse, I backed up and got ready to drive. Well, I was going the wrong way. Thankfully car rentals aren’t a big deal in Florence, because we were the only ones in the lot besides the people that look over the cars when you bring them back. So I turned around and went to look for the exit. I drove around the lot for a while and couldn’t find the exit. For crying out loud how do I get out? Well, Lisa looked around and she saw a small road (barely the width of our car) for the exit. Thank god. Well right when we exited, the TomTom fired up the voice directions for our exit to parma. So it was a little hairy getting out of the airport (probably like all airports) but we got on the A1 (not the steak sauce) and got going. I didn’t really know how fast to go, so I went as fast as most around me. I was cruising around 100 km/h which was fine by me. Florence is situated around some low level mountains, but it is still hilly and there are tunnels cut out of the rock to allow roads through them. So after about 15 minutes driving, I realize that Italians are horrible drivers. Some people are going 100 km/h, others are going 160 km/h. There was more than one time that I thought I could pass somebody and while passing, there was somebody riding my ass because they were going super fast. I can’t figure out when gas is $5 a gallon, that people would actually drive slower. I know I did. I can’t afford to fill up this little car a hundred times, because I am sure it will cost me about 75 bucks to fill the gas tank. So after we got out of hilly country it got a little better. There was one scare when I was looking into my side mirror to see if any crazies were coming up around me, and Lisa yelled “brakes, brakes” because this doofus trucker was coming into my lane with me in the way. Oh, I didn’t mention that the A1 is a toll road. I will tell prices soon. The drive took about an hour and half, which half was white knuckling driving. Sometimes I wonder how much tourism actually happens when Italians, French, or Brits come over to the states to look at stuff. I can’t believe that they do, because I never see them. I would love to see how they drive on our roads. It is probably a luxury. The roads are also pretty cramped. Just all around crazy. I hope the back roads are a little slower and easier to navigate. Well, when we finally made it to Parma, we got off the interstate, and had to cough up 10€. Just to drive on the road, not including all the fees included in getting the car on the road. How people afford things is beyond me. They also have cameras on the road that take peoples picture if they are speeding. I knew they were there because the TomTom told me. And then I wondered, if people are speeding, and you have a toll road, why not use a computer to input the time they left the toll, to the time they got off the road and paid. If they drove the speed limit, then the computer could compute how fast they were going and say okay, no speeding. And if the computer realized that if a car leaving point A toll booth arrived before the allotted time at B toll booth, then they get a ticket. How dumb is that. Especially if you have tolls. What an easy way to catch speeders. Alright, enough about driving for now. We coughed up the money and made it to our hotel, which the TomTom navigated us to. We got all our bags out and wheeled into the place. We stayed at the HolidayInn Express. Like those commercials where the people act like they know more than they should, like the guy that describes how to run away from a bear. “How do you know so much?” “I stayed at a HolidayInn Express.” So we get continental breakfast and free ice. The guy that checked us in told us that we had a single big bed. No problem. First (floor 0) floor room. We got over to the room, and the keycard is not like in the United States. I put it in and slid it out three or four different times and the door wouldn’t open, well, then I left it in the slot, and the door unlocked. Jeez. When we walked in there were two beds, so we went back and asked for a big bed. The guy (his name was Elvis!) gave us the room that we wanted. Our rooms are super nice. Nice and comfy with a big bed and a TV. I don’t think there is BBC World on it either. That is good, because I was sick or hearing about cricket and Football (soccer) and Boris Yeltsin, and the French elections, and whatever else the brits wanted to cover. Elvis gave us a map and told us how to get downtown and where to park, etc. I knew Parma had a TI, so I decided that we should stop there first. After looking at the map, I started to get scared about what we were going to do for three days. Oops. Pasta Barilla, and that’s it. But fret not, because we can always shop and dink around. So Lisa and I jumped into the car and took off for downtown. I programmed the parking ramp into the TomTom, and headed off. Lisa noticed a grocery store, so we were going to hit it later. Well, the last turn that I had to take was a roundabout, but there was construction, so they destroyed the roundabout, and you couldn’t turn across traffic to get to your destination. So I had to drive half a mile the opposite way to get turned around (the TomTom didn’t help me with turning around either, it just said “turn around when possible” thanks ya shit). So we made it to the car park and parked. The payment method is like the one in Scotland. You get your ticket, bring it with you, and when you come back, you pay, get in your car, and exit. It is kind of a nice system, and I wish the states would start that. It is easier, plus you can use your card if you want. Well, we took off from the parking lot and navigated towards the TI. We walked through a city center type park which housed the local museum and theatre. Lisa and I were also on the lookout for a place to eat because I only had an egg, and half a hot dog bun filled with custard (I bought some “little debbies” that looked exactly like hotdog buns and they have sweet, thickened milk in the middle). So we made it to the TI, and I asked about cheap places to eat (the lady was very very very helpful, and spoke wonderful English). The guide coughed up about 4 maps of Parma. On one she showed us where to eat, then I asked about optional tours. She informed us about a cheese tour (which I jumped on) but it might not be happening because they may not have English tours, and they were actually closed (for like a siesta type thing) and she said we can call later. Lisa said that we can call, and just got the number. We also asked about Prosciutto/parma ham tours, and we found a poster showing a Ham Museum, which is about 15 miles away (the TomTom says 15 miles, but 40 minutes). Well, we left the TI and headed towards the place where cheap places to eat are. Parma is about 50 times less touristy than Florence and Venice. Thank God for that. We were able to walk without having to bump into people, and we could walk side by side and not have to worry. It was pretty nice. We stopped at a local bookstore and Lisa wowed me with her know-how of the Italian language. She read a children’s book! So we found this nice little place and walked in. Nobody in the place spoke English (except for one person who spoke about as much English as I do Italian) but we were able to get a menu, order from it, and get water and coffee. Lisa got Gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, and I got lasagna (I wanted to see how it differed from ours). Lisa’s gnocchi were awesomely done, and my lasagna had spinach noodles! I sure was happy. Plus it was hot as Hades, which is a good thing, because I like hot food. I had a piece of lasagna (four noodles high) that was about 4x6 and Lisa had a small plate of gnocchi. We got some bottle water and then devoured our food. I was curious about this place we were eating at because I kept seeing them usher out these small sandwiches (like tea sandwiches) and put them in the window. Lisa and I thought they might be closing, but I think they just have some “down” time where you can’t get everything from the menu, and everybody is just sitting around. Our food was good, and then we ordered coffee, and when it came, it came with a little biscuit/digestive, which was an added surprise. I was happy with that. So after eating and paying (15€) we took off. I decided to stop back at the TI and ask the nice lady to call the cheese place and see if we could at least show up (the first time we stopped, I didn’t know about the English tour, but was told that there might not be a tour at all, hit or miss stuff). She called and talked to somebody, but she had to call back in five minutes. Then she told me that we might be able to piggyback onto this English tour (like when Beth, Katie, Luke and Lisa went to a Schnapps tour with a bunch of Australians). So she called back in five minutes and set us up for this cheese tour. We go there tomorrow at 8:15, and Lisa hasn’t said it yet, but I know she will be excited when we do all these tours tomorrow. I am getting excited also. So we got back to our car, and took off towards the hotel. Of course the TomTom told us exactly where to go. We made a sidetrack trip to the grocery store and picked up some items that we could maybe make lunch/supper with. We ended up getting: shelf stable cream cheeses, 2 different types of chips, 3 diet Fantas (1 being pompelmo, grapefruit), some Buenos (for 55 cents) about a kilo of bread, half a pizza, some little debbies, rose/blush wine in a box (€0.90! beat that Rodger!) apples and Tuna fish (we couldn’t find it in water, just olive oil!). I still have my senape (mustard) so maybe I can make some tuna and mustard sandwiches! Laugh if you want, my tastes range from trash to epicurean delights, and a tuna fish and mustard sandwich sounds awesome! So we survived the trip home (I had to cut across traffic pretty fast) and unpacked all of our stuff. We found out that the AC does work, when the city allows it. And right now it doesn’t allow it. So we have both windows cranked open (the windows are huge also) and the door is propped open with a towel. The weather in Parma is about five degrees cooler than Florence, and it doesn’t stink like the city dump. At least not yet though. We have also seen some Africans selling sunglasses, but only about 4 dudes. And they didn’t accost us when we walked by them. But that’s about it for now. Lisa and I both enjoyed our Buenos, are drinking the fanta, and wondering about supper now. So I will sign off. I am enjoying this relaxing part of our tour of Italy. Barilla tomorrow. I hope they WOW me. I will see if I can take pictures. Okay, Lisa and I will go eat now, and I will ask about wireless internet (it is 3€ for one hour, 1 shot, or 7€ for 3 hours, and you can use the minutes/hours at your leisure). Ljf
7:33 p.m
Lisa and I just got back from our delicious dinner. Of course, we had the food from the shopping experience from earlier today. Lisa mixed some pepper and mustard in the can of tuna, I used two wedges of cream cheese spread on the bread, and we had open face tuna sandwiches. Boy were they good. Lisa mentioned that the tuna was kind of fishy, and when it was plain, I agreed. But they were good. So we had those half sandwiches, half an apple each, and half of the pizza. We are now full. The rose/blush wine in a box is good. And it has a screw top lid, so we may not need to drink it all. The bidet is now filled with ice and cold stuff. Thanks for the tip Beth! I just bought a wireless card for three hours, so we can now post. And that is what I will do. Early day tomorrow with FREE breakfast, I can’t wait. Plus all the coffee we can drink! Yippee. I hope it is espresso coffee. The hotel we are at must cater to business types, because I am seen a few “meetings” in the lobby and bar. That’s about it. Thanks for reading! ljf

Florence Last Day

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 2030
Good evening. We went to the Pitti Palace. Got up, leisurely ate a breakfast of soft boiled egg and toast cheese etc. Walked only a short way near the Ponte Vecchio and beyond is the Pitti Palace. Pitti Palace is where the Medici family lived very well. The palace was absolutely HUGE. I like to think I have seen a handful of palaces and this is by far the grandest. There were so many rooms and each had a unique scene painted by a known artist. There was art CRAWLING all over the walls. There were a few names Rembrandt, Rubens, Rafael, etc. There was no audio guide and many descriptions were in Italian only. But what can you expect as we are IN Italy. Oh, well. We walked through several rooms containing art only as I said, we also walked through a part of the palace that was decorated as it had been when the Medicis were living there. There was grand fabrics on the wall like wallpaper. The furnishings were exquisite, it was a very complete palace. That is what I really wanted to be sure to see, the palace as they would have lived in luxury.
We went to the Impressionist area with “modern art” which was from the 1900s. I found that I really liked those paintings. Perhaps it was because I could relate to the subject matter or because it was not religious art. They had lots of paintings of dogs and landscapes. We then went to the costume area in the museum. They had the burial outfits of some of the Medicis. They had been buried and dead for like 60 years then when their bodies were moved to a newly finished tomb they took their garments and tried to restore them. They also had some varied period pieces.
We were going to go to the next exhibition at the museum but mother was feeling “peckish” and we decided to go get some food. The café in the museum was way to expensive €3.50 for a cup of coffee. We walked down the street and paid about € 3.50 for a 7 inch pizza. Mom got like a flat ham and cheese calzone for about the same price. Luke got some sweet cannelonis, one was chocolate filled and the other was cream filled. We also got 3 double espressos to keep our minds awake during the museum. We ate our lunch on a vacant bench with our backs facing traffic, our fronts facing the shops and the foot traffic. It was pretty sunny and hot but we didn’t want to give up our lunch place. Who knows how it would have been to find another place in the city to sit where we didn’t have to buy something first. We saw lots of families pass us. Mom/dad and kids, I thought it was funny to see the stroller empty and dad carrying the sleeping kid. The Italians are kind of pushy when it comes to passing them on the street. They expect you to move out of their way. There are so many tourists here it’s crazy. You greet them in Italian and they ask if they can help you in English. Kind funny.
Back to the story, Mom decided to go home rather than go to the remaining Boboli Garden (still part of the Pitti Palace) and the family treasures (jewels and silver stuff). The Family Treasures was kind of so-so. They had as a highlight a few bejeweled crowns and a few displays of super rings and necklaces. We walked through pretty quickly even though Luke was especially interested in the subject matter.
Next and last for that matter was the Boboli Gardens. We head out there and the first thing I do is put my sunscreen on my nose and cheeks. (it worked by the way- no sunburn) It was really hot- at least 82 or so degrees but I am a bad judge of temp when it gets above 75. It is just hot. The garden is so special because of the views it gives. The garden is up hill. The pavement has ridges in it so a foot can get a grip or a horse can walk up it. There weren’t stairs- we were thankful. We walked and walked and walked uphill, but I guess it was worth it. The higher you got the better the views got. As you went up to the top tier there were ornamental gardens with some blooming roses and a hedge maze (only knee high). At the back there was a rail and a drop off view of the countryside. Boy did it look like Tuscany. I was quite happy with my pictures- I couldn’t really see the display on the dig camera as the sun was so bright- I just saw the horizon line. We sat up there momentarily, watched some stupid American kids on their school trip talk on loudly (and slowly like they were intoxicated) on their cell phone with no shirt on and their boxers showed where their belt should have been. We just shake our heads. It was really hot up there. We walked around on their trails that wound into some trees and thus shade where it was dramatically cooler. Luke said- I really don’t want to go downhill yet, I don’t feel like walking back up this again. We found a hidden bench and had some quiet time and some sitting time. We listened for bunnies and squirrels but none were found. We did hear some birds that were not pigeons. They had a different sound. It was peaceful spot even in this big city. We walked some more, took some pictures and filled our water bottle. Thankfully there was a fountain. It was water continuously flowing about 2 inches vertically above a spout. To get a sip you put your finger over the spout (a la water hose technique) and the water will arch and you can drink it like a fountain. People put their finger over it too much and with too much pressure. They all got water in the eye. It was kind of funny. It was hot though so I’m sure it felt good. Luke and I were also grateful to be alone for this trip, some time away from the rents is fine for half the day. As we were exiting the garden Luke saw a white with grey cat. His eyes lit up and he just about ran up there to pet him. As we did that one of the groundskeepers called the cat (Julie) and put some cat food on the concrete for him. I noticed later that there also were little water dishes set out, perhaps for the cat. He must have been the garden cat, keeping it free of rodents. We also saw a lady with lots of plastic bags filled with old bread crumbs. She tossed a bit to the birds and then threw the bread into the murky fountain water. There were dozens upon dozens of fish in there. Some were pretty dang big, they would surface and slurp up the bread pieces. It was neat to watch and I took a video of it. I bed that lady does that every week and I bed she doesn’t have to pay admission to do it. Maybe she works there.
We walk home which takes but a few minutes. Mom and Dad each had the keys so Luke and I had to use the intercom button. It rang upstairs and Mom pushed the button to open the outside door and we walked up. On our way we saw at the Piazza outside our house a band setting up, like an orchestra band with drums and horns and everything. There was a concert to celebrate Italian Independence from the WWII occupation. We stood and listened to a few tunes the highlights were the theme from Indiana Jones and Last of the Mohicans. Our feet were pretty sore so we didn’t stay for long. It was a long concert too about an hour and a half. 30 min was long enough.


Then we went back to the apartment to eat leftovers of red sauce pasta, soup, bread and fresh asparagus (that was especially yummy, fixed fried/steamed in a pan with oil, lemon and S&P). Dad brought home some gelato and gifts from his solo excursion. He took a bus trip to the Piazza Michelangelo which is way out of the way and really uphill. He traveled by bus and said it wasn’t that spectacular- there were a hundred other people there besides.
We picked up and packed. It is kinda tricky to get all the kitchen stuff sorted out. You bet your buns I don’t want to forget MY kitchen stuff. God forbid I forget the wine opener, although in Florence the wine opener has been the scissors. The box wine treated my parents well. We were given a box of red wine for our travels.
We pick up the rental car at the airport tomorrow and it is on our way to Parma! Let’s hope we don’t have to pay for parking! Let’s hope the stick shift goes smooth. Luke used to love his stick shift. We may be further away from internet; at least we’ll have to pay by the quarter hour so we won’t be able to do much dinking around. Wish us luck as we relax a little bit and eat a little bit more. ljf

Florence Day 6 and Pisa

Monday, April 23, 2007 PM
In addition to the entry of last night: We ate a late lunch and we decided to go on the Oltrano walk down by the Pone Vecchio. We went on an unexciting non touristy side street. We walked and saw the old Roman city limits wall around Florence, then turned around and walked along the Arno river and saw a pair of otters swimming in the water. We also saw lots of trash on a big sand bar because of the low water level. A couple was sitting on a dry part of a “spill way,” I guess that’s the only way I know how to describe it. We walked some more and ended up at our apartment and Luke got dinner started. We ate late at 9 pm, just like the Italians. The restaurants don’t even open around here until 7 pm.



Christine called at 9 pm while we were eating. We ate (while I am thinking of it) basil tomato sauce penne with chicken cutlets, romaine lettuce salads with creamy herb dressing, mozzarella cheese and pan fried zucchini in parsley, garlic and butter. The zucchini was really good. So Christine called and said she was in Florence. She said she’d come by to visit. We cleaned up our dinner mess and went outside to meet her when she came in. It was a really nice night on the Piazza della Signoria. We met Christine’s roommates briefly. We came back up for wine and apricot torta. We chatted until 1130, arranged our plans for the A.M. and Dad graciously walked Christine back to her hotel by the train station. Luke and I hit the sack as we were really tired.


Tuesday, April 24, 2007. 1711
Luke and I literally just breezed through the door from our trip to Pisa. I’ll start the story from the beginning. This morning we had an early start. We were all planning on leaving to go to Pisa this AM at 8.30. I looked at our Pisa tower climbing reservation and it said 1130 and to arrive 30 min early to get your ticket etc. Damn. With the time it takes to walk to the train and the time it takes to theoretically wait for the train and to get from your train stop to the bus and the waiting time for the bus and time to the destination- ( deep breath) it is hard telling if you could make on time by the skin of your teeth. So, Luke and I left early so we could be there and not miss our combined €30 tower reservation. We left early and scooted on foot to the train station. We bought our ticket from the automatic ticket machine for 0856. We had enough time to get a breakfast sandwich. We chose to stop at the McDonalds. I had a bacon egg and cheese, Luke had 2 hamburgers. We caught the train to Pisa which went kind of quickly. I was tired and dozed in and out of the trip. We saw some hints at the Tuscan hills and poppies growing wild next to the train tracks. I really like the poppys. We arrived at the Pisa train station after 1 hour and found our way out to the bus area and with some questions and some spontaneous advice from a local we got on the right bus-Lan Rosse (red line) (€0.80 for 60 min. ticket).
We got a standing ride on the bus to the tower. It was through a gate and we could hardly see from the road. Luke said he saw the Leaning tower peaking out. We walked past a throng of tourist stalls to the leaning tower. It was really neat to see in person. We found the ticket office and turned in our voucher and waited patiently with like 45 min til our entry time. As it got closer to our entry time we stood in a line at the base and look who we saw but Dad coming down the little road. They were here and we would have definitely been too late if we had traveled with them.
We ascended the stairs which were marble and had a 8 inch grove in the center from water perhaps and also from thousands of foot steps. It was a bit disorientating as the spiral stairs were kind of crooked and put you off balance. Everyone was going up the stairs fast as they were excited and eager to look out of the top. We got to the first walkable layer walked around a bit and then went up to the next layer for a 1 story higher view of the surrounding view. Then we saw another teeny stairway up another level to the tip tip top. This was, of course the most exposed as there was no building above our head. We waved at times to Mom who took our picture from the bottom. Cousin Christine was sketching some architectural details for her sketch book and Italy semester abroad.
It was pretty hot and hazy in Pisa. I think I got sunburned a little bit. We ate our sack lunch in the shadow of the Duomo or the “church.” We had surprisingly enjoyed the church. It had a gilded, coffered ceiling. Some large religious paintings along the side walls (of course) and the highlight was an intricately carved “Pisan” pulpit. Not “of Pisa” but the guy who made it was named Pisan. We were allowed to take pictures there so we got some pics. I wanted to get one of Luke narrating to the group of my cousin, my mother and me.
We wandered around, went to the gift shop (for Mom) and went to get a picture of Luke holding up the tower. I tried to give him instruction to hold it up appropriately but he wasn’t following my instruction and we didn’t get a good pic. His hand was holding up mid air. He wasn’t very happy with me. We then walked past the sea of tourist trinket tents. Decided to go and find this grocery store that there was a sign for. I was kind of crabby and tired and felt sunburned and didn’t want to go. It turned out to be the best grocery store we’d been to. It gives me hope that we’ll have some better grocery stores in Parma and Volterra. They had lots of brands and cereal and all the things that are not terribly common to the regular Italian. I was impressed. We got some filled croissants, Diet Fanta (we had it on the plane and have been looking for it ever since and not found til here), a Bueno Bar (yummy wafer with hazelnut filling) and potato chips (to satisfy the French fry need for Luke). We caught the bus to the train station again.
Got a ticket for €5.50 again and hopped on the train. Guess who we saw in the station? Christine’s roommates! They had been at the Uffizi AND the Pitti Palace and then they were in Pisa to see the tower! These girls have a mission I tell you. Damn that is some serious travel. This time we sat and got in some good chat time with Christine. We had some snacks that we bought at the grocery store. When we arrived to Florence we saw police men patrolling the station on segueway scooters. They looked very dignified- they had hard saddlebags containing perhaps stuff for a riot or maybe a gun in a lock box. I thought that was pretty cool. Christine booked her ticket on the electronic ticket machine for her return trip back to Venice. She was checking times and prices and things. She booked and paid and didn’t notice that she booked from the wrong Florence “station” and also booked to the wrong Island of Venice. AHHH! The train that she booked left in like an hour. That would have been fine but she had to travel back to our apartment to get her overnight bag AND travel back to the train station and THEN figure out how to either deal with her ticket OR get it figured out and fixed. Ahh. Can you imagine? I was so nervous for her. That kind of mistake is the thing of my bad dreams.

So that’s where you find us. Just blown in from the train station in a hurry to get here and get Christine off. Mom and Dad are scheduled to return via the bus as Christine thought a brisk walk would be quicker than the bus. So we obliged.

Later that night at 2000:
We have had dinner. Luke made partially from box and partially from scratch minestrone. They got some on sale stew meat that he put in there to dress it up a bit, also added some of our potatoes. It really hit the spot with some hard bread to dip in and some fresh grated parmesan cheese on top.
The Family is fading fast and we are getting tired quick. Luke just informed me that he is bored and wants me to hurry up on the computer- likely so he can go down and check the status the email. That is all I know. Tomorrow we are off to Pitti Palace which was the Medici (they were the BIG patrons and ruling family over Florence for a hundred years) family home. They have lots of palace décor and a costume museum and a big ornamental garden that is it’s own exhibit with separate admissions. I hope to enjoy some quiet time there. Good night. ljf

Florence Day 5

April 23, 2007 4:40 p.m.
Well another illustrious day for us. Today was the Duomo Tour along with the Duomo Museum tour. Everybody basically got up early without being told. It was another good night of sleep, but of course we had to wear earplugs, because the windows were open. No drunks thankfully. This morning for breakfast we had leftover potatoes that were fried, eggs, cheese and bread. Coffee and yogurt were also on the menu. The night prior Rodger and I went to the grocery store and they had these bacon wrapped turkey pieces, so we bought them and had those as well. Breakfast was filling. After breakfast, everybody started getting ready for our trip. Once all were ready, we headed out with our trash (we forgot to ask Frederico where we put our trash, and I haven’t seen any pickups in our apartment complex). We deposited the trash and took off. First on the list was the Duomo, which for all who don’t know, the Duomo is THE church in Florence. Duomo actually means church, but people call the one in Florence that because it is such a huge church. We arrived and found out that there was a line of people going around the church to enter. No problem. Right when we got there, they opened the doors for everybody to go in, so the wait wasn’t that long. While we got to the front of the church, I noticed a sign saying no shorts or skirts. So I started to sweat, and as we walked in, Lisa blocked the guards view of me, but I don’t think they care, because the more people in the church, the more stuff they can sell. So we got in with no problems. The church of course is mighty big. Like most churches of this time, it is a huge open space. The place was basically gutted, and a few things were on the walls. In Rick Steves’ Florence, there was a small blurb about the Duomo, because there really isn’t anything in there. They kind of talk about the Dome (which at the time was a huge feat considering what had to be done). The highlight I believe was the gift shop (at the actual ground floor of the church, down some steps under the floor everybody stands on). The prices in the gift shop were the best I have seen in a gift shop for a place like this. After the gift shop, we exited the Duomo and headed to the back of the church to the Duomo museum. Now the museum on the other hand is a historical place because all the artwork conceived for the church was moved into this building. The problem was, when the church was built, there were many setbacks to it. The church was built, but then they tore down the front, and then it stood there basically naked for 300 years while Florence decided what it wanted to do. So there was a lot of rebuilding and such going on, so they took everything down that had some value and holed it up in the Museum. In the museum we saw a lot of Donatello’s, michelangelo’s Pieta, and the actual doors for the Baptismal. I could really go into detail about all of this work, but I actually think that is boring, and I know that Lisa is going more in depth of things. I know some people might like that, but not most. I guess this is our diary, but that is why we have books, to look this stuff up.



I thought the highlight was Michelangelo’s Pieta, which was actually his last work. He was carving this statue to be put on his coffin. The surprise was that we actually got to take pictures, so we did. We spent probably an hour and half there looking at sculptures, paintings and religious items.
After we left there, we had some caffé and decided what we wanted to do. The gameplan was to return to the covered market (central market), look around and then head back home. Lisa and Beth had to buy a few more gifts, I wanted to look around the market, and Rodger wanted to look around the market. So we all kind of split up and did our own thing for about half an hour. When we got back together, Rodger wanted to have lunch in the Market (where prices were cheaper), but Lisa and I wanted to head home. So Rodger and Beth stayed at the market to eat lunch and Lisa and I decided to stop quick and get some “lunchmeat” which was actually salami. In Italy, there is about 500 different varieties of salami, and you can’t figure out which one you like by looking. At one of the stalls they give out samples to quizzical tourists, so we got these huge samples from a nice lady. She would hand me a small crostini (which is a lot for a sample once you put a slice of meat on it) and then hand Lisa one. We could have had lunch right there if we kept asking questions. So two out of the three meats we liked, and then we tried some balsamic vinegar, which was good, but not great. She also had some black olive tapenade and red pesto. We tried both and decided that we would get two of the meats and the black olive tapenade. So the lady asks which we want, we tell her, and then she runs over to the guys cutting the meat and serving people and tells them what we want, and they check us out. Quite a good little system, because they aren’t stingy with their samples, and there checkout is speedy and efficient, especially if you talk through the sample lady. So after we got our stuff we headed home while Rodger and Beth ate lunch there.



I made a small sandwich buffet of the meats, three cheeses, the tapenade, senape (mustard) and some caramelized onions I did a few days ago. We also opened a bottle of red wine that I mistakenly bought for about 8€, because I thought it was 2€. The lunch was pretty tasty, the wine was smoky at first, but then toned down to a decent red wine. I think I like the 1€ box white wine better. And now Rodger is at a stamp store, Lisa and Beth are taking a nap, and I am typing. Later tonight we take a walking tour of the Ponte Vecchio and Pitti Palace. So at least we will get some exercise. Tomorrow is the Pisa day trip. Time to see the leaning tower. That should be fun.

Florence Dinner and Day 4

Please note that this dinner entry was Saturday Nights Dinner (first) and Sunday events follow from there. Thanx Also, it is diffucult w/ the formatting w/ blogspot to add in double spaces, so bear w/ us if you are having difficulty reading this. So sorry :(

2100- Dinner went kinda weird. We went to a place Rick recommended and we were the first ones in line as it was closed until 7.30 PM. We looked at the menu and decided it wasn’t a spectacular one. For instance it had like 5 different variations of veal, and like spaghetti and red sauce. I don’t think so. So we bickered and hemmed and hawed and decided eventually to go in and see what is was about. When we did there were no seats left as the many remaining tables had a reserved sign on them. So we left. In the course of waiting for the place to open, though, we did run into a group from CO. They were friendly, they offered to share their table with us. For my first time dining out I did not want to sit separate from my husband and to have to make pleasant conversation with strangers. We did just cop out and go to the restaurant in front of our apartment. We sat at a table for 2 in between two other tables for 2. Both couples were middle aged and German- though not apparently together. The tables were awfully close together and one could not help but listen to the other’s conversation. Awkward! So we had Tuscan mix crostini for appetizer. They were bread (not toasted as I would have liked), one had tomatoes tossed in a marinade for a topping. One had marinated mushrooms, and 2 had a beef pate’. Luke is not a fan of pate’ I on the other hand love it. Second course was for me homemade tortellini with a cream sauce. Luke had country Tuscan vegetable soup which was like thick minestrone. It was tasty enough as he didn’t complain. No noodles rather beans. For main course I had salmon with “pink sauce” it was the same cream sauce that was on the tortellini but with whole red peppercorns inside. The salmon itself was good but I got kind of disgusted when I pulled out like 12 bones from my mouth. I’ve had a few episodes with things stuck in my esophagus before like one time I swallowed a plastic fork tine that came off in my food, the other time I had a shard of turkey bone from a helping of ground turkey. Both times they were stuck in my esophagus for a while- I even went to the ER after the turkey shard was stuck for like 18 hours. They even confirmed it with x-ray, they did a scope and everything. AHHH. Needless to say I was kind of freaked out. Ok, now back to what Luke had. Luke ordered a Florentine steak which is made from the cows of the area. It was a BIG steak, it hung off the edge of the plate. Luke has kind of missed “meat” since we have been here and that took the edge off. He ate it all. We had with the meal a 0.45 L of “still” water (not with bubbles) for €2, and a bottle of Rifuno Chianti house wine for € 17. The meal was slowly timed and we almost drank the whole bottle before the main course. I don’t think Luke and I have EVER drank a bottle of wine ourselves. The whole meal at that touristy place cost us €88. If we would have gone to that other place- it would have been more like €40. Oh well. We did have a bit more selection, though a crap waiter. We got up to wander around the square, saw the people who offered to let us sit at their table at the other place. We quick skirted away so we wouldn’t have to make forced conversation……again.

We treated ourselves to our first Florence gelato, which Florence specifically is known for in Italy. I had tiramisu’ flavored and Luke had hazelnut flavored. We sat in the square, wandered over to the street performers where a flautist played- he ended with “Danny Boy.” For some reason I always cry when I hear that. I don’t know why. I don’t like choke and cry but my eyes cry and water. Luke thinks it’s funny, it must be the lyrics. I do remember singing it in choir. Then we heard the dude singing Simon and Garfunkel covers and we went back to the apartamente. We heard about mom and dad’s trip to the Ponte Vecchio and going to an inexpensive place where the locals dine. They were satisfied with the price and the food. We went to bed at 2230. Still were loud drunks in the street which we acknowledged and easily dismissed with sleep and earplugs. Good night. ljf

Sunday, April 22, 2007 6:06
Buon Giorno! I needed to write in my Boun Journal. We are back and waiting a delicious dinner. Luke is cooking. We got up at the early hours of 7.30, damn. We may as well have gone to church. We had a breakfast of a roll, jelly, cheese- the standard. Then we were all dressed, coiffed and ready to go by 9.00. We headed NW of the Piazza Singoria about a 5 min walk to the Bargello. Admission was € 7 each. Kinda stiff I think. But not bad compared to American standards. We saw Michelangelo, Donatello, Brunelleschi, and 4 different “David’s.” Rick, again, narrated. The Bargello was originally the police station. It has a wide open courtyard surrounded by the building. It had big doors to let the horses and carts in and yet protect the insides. I did notice that the big doors that were not in use but opened and then a modern tall glass door was retrofitted to fit inside it. The point I am trying to make is that the doors are as big as the doors at the entrance to our building. We saw some armor (adult and children’s), swords, more glass and pottery ware, jewelry, crossbows, della robbia (fruit and green wreaths made of porcelain, ivory object art in addition to all the portraits, busts, and sculpture. We saw (and I got a post card of) the Donatello “S. Giorgio” made in 1416. St. George the dragon slayer. This big statue with shield was the equivalent to the “David” (the one we all know so well). It was as prominent and meant so much to Florentines. It was placed in the Orsanmichelle church that is just a few blocks away from our oh so centrally located apartment. We saw Donatello’s David done in 1430. What I refer to as the Pimp David which a photo is in one of the first blog entries- I think the Itinerary entry. This David was boyish, confident, feminine and naked. Rick Steves points out that Michelangelo grew up admiring this statue as it was prominently placed in his adopted home with the Medici’s, this had to have been an inspiration to him. We saw the bronze reliefs that were contest entries to grace the prominent church baptistery doors. The were important because they were the first examples to show real depth and real perspective. Also saw another “David” this one by Verrochio. He was younger, and really looked like the shepard boy that would slay Goliath. Mom was really interested in the Luca della Robbia terra cotta relief panels. These were porcelain painted and supposedly my Grandma Joanne just loved della robbia. It was porcelainy greenery with lemons and fruit. Saw some sculptures that were special because there was so much freestanding material sticking out in the air and not much touching the base of the sculpture to ground it. Saw Michelangelo’s Bacchus 1497, a grape leaf crowned hedon who loved to taste the wine and enjoy parties. There is a little nymph with him too. Saw another Michelangelo David- also known as Apollo- they are unsure which he was. Either it was David with the sling or Apollo with the quiver of arrows. Any way this one is unfinished and “larger that life” has so much more personality in the face. He copied certain elements of the other “Davids” and changed others. Saw Giamboligna’s Mercury. He supposedly looks like the FTD florist insignia. He is a bronze statue standing on 1 leg the other is extended behind him, also 1 arm is outstretched in front and the other is holding a wand of some kind. That is about all the art talk you can handle. I am writing this for my diary and memory but also for the blog too. Sorry if you are bored to tears.

We stopped at a near by outdoor café for un caffé, Luke and I had double espressos, Mother, a single, and Father a cappuccino. We paid for the caffé’ and also the outdoor dining service, 10 € total. Not terrible, but necessary because we were all yawning like crazy in the museo. As it was 1130 we decided to go to the Straw Mercado (market). It turns out that Luke and I were there previously with out even knowing. It was a covered market in the sense that there was a gothic curvy roof above us with columns to support the roof, but no walls to make it like an ancient shelter house. Ha, ha. Mom looked at scarves and purses, lots and lots of purses were on display. They will give you a good price. What was on the tag was never what they offered. It made you feel like it was a good deal.

Next to the market on one of the pedestrian streets there were artists doing sidewalk chalk drawings (for donation, of course) of major complex works of art. The drawings were amusing and amazing. I think I took a photo of that.
We all headed back to the apartment at 1230 and had a little lunch of cheese, crackers, a cold pizza (€5 from the mercato centrale yesterday- bought it cold and then heated it up), apple, oranges, buns etc. Luke and I headed at 1300 to the Uffizi museum. Conveniently the Uffizi was a block away and we figured out how to claim our tickets/reservations that were paid for online. We got to bypass the long line and gain entry and went through the metal detector and x-ray baggage scanner (like in all museums here). We bought a guide book on the street as the down to earth Rick Steves (the travel guidebook author) instructed. We paid € 9.50 + the € 3.00 reservation fee each for admission. The travel book cost €7.00. We saw a room full of busts along the wall and portraits along the ceiling of important civic patrons (of that time). We saw just a few of the religious medieval church altar paintings. It was neat to have the artistic important points spelled out to you in common terms. One of the neat things about the medieval art that we saw was you saw the progression to flat, no perspective people and no backgrounds to some incorrect perspective with Mary’s face getting rounder and more realistic to accurate perspective, and Mary modeled after a real person and looking like there was a body showing through her shroud rather than just a blob of robe color with a face and hands. Saw some early renaissance of a battle scene where Uccello (in the early 1400s) painted a big scene of some A- perspective element work and some D grade elements. (That’s how Rick pointed them out to us). I got a post card of that too.
Saw the highlight the Botticelli “Allegory of spring” and the “Birth of Venus.” The ladies are just beautiful. The renaissance was about the change of church art to art for art’s sake. The naked ladies are sensual not sexual. Michelangelo has a poem that says souls will never ascend into heaven “until the sight of beauty lifts them there.” Botticelli finds God in the details of the painting. Saw some religious Da Vinci another “Annunciation” where the angels tell Mary that she will conceive the savior- has this look on her face like “ how am I going to tell my parents.” Saw a Martin Luther the Christian reformer portrait. He denounced being a monk, married a defrocked nun had 6 children and adopted 11 orphans. Wow. That’s how pissed they were at the Catholic Church. The nun who was 20 years M.L’s junior said she married to “please my father and annoy the Pope.” Saw a Raphael Madonna with J.C. and St. John the Baptist portrayal. Saw a Raphael Pope Leo X and cardinals- Leo was a Medici so that was fitting to Florence. Saw a Titian version of “Venus,” this was Venetian renaissance and was more art for pleasure than art’s sake.
We thought we were done here but saw some more “modern” art- like a few of the Dutch masters: Durer, Rembrandt’s “Self portrait”, Caravaggio’s “Bacchus” We gladly exited the museum as 2 hours was a lot of museum. I just can’t wait for the Vaticano Museo!!! AHHH. That will be a big bight to chew.
We came home to Dad and Mom with groceries. Mom and I went for a walk to the Duomo and to get her some cigarettes and a lighter at a Tabacchi shop. We got a caffé espresso there too which we drank standing at the counter. Yummy. We walked to the Duomo and around it and looked at some stores that the men would scoff that we went into. Meanwhile Dad and Luke returned to the grocery store to get some vinegar or some salad dressing for the fresh lettuce we bought yesterday at the Mercato Centrale.

We all came home again and Luke was busy cooking. They got some potatoes which we boiled and parslied, we had salad with fresh vine ripened tomatoes (that smelled like an actual garden), onion, and herb dressing. Luke made some turkey breasts that were pounded flat seasoned with salt and pepper, then a little bit of tomato sauce topped with a bit of fresh Italian parsley and fresh mozzarella! We had a buttered bun and we were FULL.

Oh, we also had our first Florence box table wine. Dad bought 1 liter of white table wine for €1.05. Mom even enjoyed the wine, and she is not a wine lover. Dad really enjoyed it as he had like 3 glasses. After dinner, Dad went again to the grocery store to buy some gelato. You see, gelato on the street is way too expensive for us. At like 21.00 we went to the Uffizi piazza and listened to more street performers the same flautist and the same Simon and Garfunkel cover guy and his wife who sings back-up. Luke and I got smart this time; we each brought and beer and waited for the best seats in the house on these certain stairs with a wall to lean on. We came back home after an hour or so and had some lemon and strawberry gelato from the freezer section of our local Magi grocery store! It hit the spot. It was pretty good. Now Luke is lounging on the couch looking longingly at me to finish the blog the heck up so we can go to bed. Good night as it is 2230 and bedtime. We’ll publish this. ljf

Florence Day 3

Saturday, April 21, 2007 7:57

Everyone is still asleep at this time. Mom and Dad arrived at like at 8 pm last night. Luke and I had been sitting at the pub drinking beers. I had 3 corona’s on an empty stomach and I was a bit drunkish. We all sat at the table talking for a bit. Dad helped himself to a few of our delicious French fry basket. They were so hot and so good. Yummy. Luke said he wasn’t getting his recommended daily allowance of French fries like he usually munches on here and there at the RAC. I brought Mom/Dad to the apartment to freshen up and drop off their stuff. Meanwhile Luke got mad and had been waiting down at the door for us to let him in. He wasn’t very happy at all- being stiffed. I apologized.

Then we decided to eat at home rather than eat out, so we quick ran to the grocery store that is not very close nor very far. We made it there just 10 min before closing. Got some more milk, cheese, Luke found beef broth, yogurt, yam buns, lemons for the water etc. Then Luke cooked some spaghetti with red sauce and whipped up a cheese plate that my dad quite enjoyed along with some bread slices. We hit the sack as it approached 10. I heard mom put on the BBC world news. As it was Friday night the bar foot traffic was awful. They were quite loud. Even without the earplugs in. That’s the price you pay. So as it is only 8:07. I am still the only one up. More later on the days events. Ljf

1630We are back from the day's events. We went first to see Fra Angelico at the San Marco Church. It is an old monastery. The reason Fra Angelico is so special is because he was present for the beginning of the renaissance. He did religious art in a clean and realistic way. It was very interesting especially the way Rick Steves narrated. We saw mostly things that should have been at the front of churches. These were along the same line as the church art we saw yesterday but it was more modernized people with real faces and depth in the painting. We spent like an hour and a half there. Then we tried to quick hustle to the mercato centrale. We walked to it and didn’t hit it the first time.
The whole main floor was refrigerated meat counters. They had rabbit (hmmm), beef steaks yet to be cut, parma ham, parma crudo, chicken, ducks, Cornish hens etc. What ever you wanted you could get. They had lots of cheese stands where we got asiago, and some other kind of cheese I can’t remember. I also got per my desire pate’ which is like ground seasoned organ meats made into a meat paste. It was yummy. Liked it lots, I may even have a bite now on a piece of toast. Mom got some dried apricots and dried cherries. Luke got some tomatoes, fresh lettuce, strawberries, oranges, asparagus and clementines. We then walked to the San Lorenzo market which has tourist trinkets
and sat at the steps of the San Lorenzo church and ate lunch (the same spot as yesterday lunch). We had the old standbys; yogurt, apple, bread with butter, a few slices of cheese, and the oranges we bought at the market. The oranges themselves had a red “flesh” (if I can refer to that without sounding like a pervert). The orange was so good, not much rind under the skin and mostly juice in the sections. I am not a big orange fan but these were exceptional.

While we were looking at the map Dad thought we should go have a gelato in the park. We walked a ways toward the park and found the park but saw a big gate that was locked. Then we walked around the park more and saw another gated and locked area. I guess it was an art park that you had to pay to get into. We would have done that but it was like hot and we were right next to the bus and train station. It took a lot of deliberation and discussion and walking around and looking at maps but finally we got to where the A bus (a short electric bus that services the city center) picked people up. The tickets cost € 1.20 for 70 min. We validated the ticket on the bus. Then we walked home to the Piazza della Signoria. We went home and had some of the fresh strawberries.

The weather was in the 80s. I think I am in fact sunburned my cheeks feel a bit tight and warm. Luke and Lisa will go out to dinner separate from the folks. And no, it was not my instance to separate. Now Luke is griping at me to plug the computer back in and get this posted so we can eat. We’ll let you know how dinner goes. Have a lovely evening. ljf

Florence Day 1 and 2

4/18/2007 3:55 PM Good afternoon, Luke and I had a very light day today. We woke at 8.30 or so and got the blog squared away so we could insert it when we found an internet point. So I did that. Then we had some crystal light “ juice” and milk. The milk is kinda nice here. It comes only in liter bottles. It also comes in like liter juice boxes. You make a slit on the top and pour. The milk in a box costs like 0.70 € and the milk in a bottle costs like €1.34 .The milk in the box is also shelf stable, as in it doesn’t require refrigeration. Luke also hung the clothes out to dry. We washed them last night. Put them in the drier TWICE, and they still needed to be hung up. So, that Luke did. They are dry now, some were hung in and some hung out. We headed to the San Zachariah vaporetto stop and took #1 bus to the Ca’ Rezzonico. It is an old rich family’s palazzo (palace) that has been turned into a civic museum. We didn’t have to pay admission as it was covered on our museum card. We saw the palace with all it’s painted ceilings, some original furnishings, but mostly paintings. Glad we went, I guess. We didn’t pay for an audio guide, nor have we yet paid for audio guides as Rick Steve’s book gives a guided tour with text. So, Luke was actually my guide. He read aloud as I followed along around the room. We finished up there and caught the #1 again to the Rialto stop where we decided to run around a bit and look around that area some more. Saw more tourist shops of the same genre as I have mentioned previously. We did make a stop back at the piazza that we spent yesterdays lunch at. Also we returned to the cheese shop which we now know is called Casa Della Parmigiano. We bought more asiago cheese, Fontina Toscana and parma crudo. Which is basically a cheap variety of parma ham. We wandered around more- I was in the lead I thought we were heading back to the rialto area but my senses were off and Luke took us back on course. We basically had to turn around and go back the way we came- that’s how off I was. So we did and at 1330 the fish and produce markets were all closing up shop. Luke suggested we go back to our vaporetto stop, but we were looking at the rialto and there happened to be a traghetto stop right there. Traghetto is used when there are no bridges in sight and it would be convenient to cross the rialto if only you had a boat. Basically it is a “taxi” or a “bus” that just crosses the water for it’s route. That’s all it does. It costs €0.50 and is the cheapest and shortest gondola ride you’ll ever have. It is a boat just big enough for 10 people or so to fit on. It is propelled by 2 gondoliers and takes just a few minutes. Can’t beat the price, I told Luke to enjoy this moment. We didn’t even take a picture. So after we crossed we walked a block to our bus stop and found a bread shop and got a few buns as Luke was feeling faint. He was so hungry his stomach had stopped growling. At the bread shop there was a dude selling a half dozen knock off pursed. I said to Luke “here’s my chance!” He thought I was serious. But we kept on walking. Got on our bus which felt like it took forever to get to our off spot at San Zachariah . We walked home and as we walked by the fish specialty restaurants I actually saw a lobster on the ice bed move! Each of these restaurants has a display table showing how good the seafood is there and what they have fresh in today. Luke said he saw one move on the table- I thought he was pulling my leg. He was not. I saw a lobster moving slowly. They keep him alive so they can eat him at the end of the night. Back at our apartment Luke starts to microwave last nights hodge-podge and I suggest a cheese plate. He liked my idea and made one- a good cheese plate. Better than we have ever had in a restaurant. We put mozzarella (which we got at the Punta store before we stopped back at the apartment) and the Fontina, Parmesano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, dried cherries, and the traili crackers on the cheese plate.. We took a picture of our dinner and the cheese plate. We ate bread along with and I had a glass of last nights left over open bottle of vino. Now we are up to the current time as I am writing, Luke I fear is asleep on the couch as I am writing outside on the huge patio. I still have 1/3 glass wine here. We have to pack tonight and get the apartment. All ship shape for inspection so we get our €300 cash deposit back. We get on the train to Florence in the AM for another fun filled week of museums. We may even go out to dinner there. There should be more dining options there as the whole place can’t be as touristy as Venezia. Good night!
April 19, 2007 1100We are currently on the train to Florence. It is actually a quiet train, and there are no noises of train tracks etc on the train. The scenery is okay, but you can tell Italy is kind of run down. I see lots of rust and there seems to be old dirt. It doesn’t look that black. You see some vines for grapes here and there, I am sure that people can get some big bucks for family owned bottles of wine. The tickets for the train cost us 60 €, which isn’t so bad. I thought. Last night Lisa and I had some free time to burn before we went back to the apartment to clean, so we decided to go to St. Marks Square. It wasn’t so busy, because most of the vendors were going home. The vendors that were there were the people selling bird seed for the pigeons. So Lisa and I decided to buy some. For crying out loud it was only 1€. When I handed the package to Lisa, birds instantly jumped into her hands to eat. It was hilarious. You didn’t even have to put food in your hand, and they would fly up and see if you had anything good to eat. I took a nice video and some pictures. Then Lisa hands me the bag, and the birds fly onto me. They were nice birds, they weren’t pecking out your eyes for food or anything, so it wasn’t so bad. After the bag of food was gone, you could hold out your hand a little bit more, and the pigeons would fly up and look to see if you had any food. After about two tries, they got smart, and wouldn’t fly up. After the pigeons, we went and just sat around near St. Marks. I like to people watch, but I don’t think as much as Lisa. Oh well. So after about half an hour, we decided to head back. I tried to take a back route to our apartment, but it really didn’t work out that way. So back to apartment we went. Lisa and I did most of the housework last night so we wouldn’t have to rush this morning. We basically did all the dishes, swept the floor and took out the trash. After all that was done, we decided to watch some criminal minds. I sure do like that show, but I am surprised that they can keep up with serial killers as a theme for the show. It is nice to watch, especially without commercials. So Lisa also tried calling her mother last night to pass on directions on how to call us, because Lisa is getting homesick. She needs some sort of family connection. So as we went to bed, I couldn’t sleep, because I was almost positive that the damn phone was going to ring, but it never did. So I slept like crap. We did close our windows though, because we read on the weather report online (when we actually had time in between blogging and checking emails) and it said thunderstorms. So there was a positive for shutting them, our stuff wouldn’t get wet, and we wouldn’t have to listen to all the chatter on the ground floor of people/drunks walking by. It almost gets annoying. So this morning, we had some breakfast, something small, finishing packing the bags, showered and waited for the lady to show up. She was right on time, surprisingly. She coughed up the 300 dollar deposit and off we went. After an hour long boat ride, we arrived at the train station. We ran up to the ticket machine and started punching in our stuff. It was about ten after 11 and Lisa was worried we wouldn’t get to the train in time (it left at 11:23) but I figured, why wait around? So we went outside to the waiting trains, and of course, we start to get instantly confused. I tried looking for Florence on the arrivals/departures screen, but no luck. So I noticed a guy standing around to check tickets, etc, and Lisa and I went and ran towards this guy, and asked him where the hell our train was (it said nowhere on the ticket) and he pointed us to the Roma train, so the end destination is the train you are looking for. Well, nowhere on the ticket does Roma appear, so we are glad that the guy figured out where we were to go. So we ran to the tracks and showed our ticket to some dude, and he says, go to car eight. So we ran into the car, and it was basically empty. But we found our seats, and everything was okay. So now are still running the tracks, and everything is okay. I called Freddrico, and told him we were running late. He was okay with that. I think I will ask him when we get to Florence if he can fix our phone so it speaks in English, because it is almost driving me nuts. So that’s about it. Lisa did get to talk to her mother, which was a good thing. Her mom was almost out of her mind I think to get an answer from our phone. I am hating our phone anyways, because it has a weird menu structure, plus we constantly get texts in Italian. Ugh. Okay, well time to go. Ljf
April 19, 2007 Florence 1900Well, we finally made it to Florence- about 2 hours total. When we got off the train, we went to the side entrance of the train station, and Lisa told me to call the guy that we needed to meet up with. So I called him and told him we were at the train station and just needed to get a taxi. He said no problem, see you in a bit. So Lisa and I went around the corner to get to a taxi (through a taxi stand) and there was a block long line of people and suitcases. Oh my gosh, we were screwed. Halfway through the line Freddrico called and asked where we were. I told him half an hour and we should be there. When we finally got our taxi, the guy driving was like a 20 something year old guy. He zipped through small alleyways and pushed aside tourists to get us to where we needed. He even got out of the car and showed us exactly where we needed to go after he dropped us off, because he couldn’t go right up to the door. Jeez. So we walked down this row of buildings looking for #7, and we finally found it and there were two huge wooden double doors. We walked in and we didn’t know which apartment to ring, but before we could think about it for too long, Freddrico asked Lisa if she was here for the apartment. So he took us upstairs to our apartment and showed us around and turned on the AC. Lisa and I then had a dilemma: which bedroom to choose. One had two twin beds but was bigger, and the other had a double but was smaller. We chose the two twins, because I believe it will be more tolerable in there. So we dinked around for a bit, and then we decided to walk towards a supermarket that Freddrico showed us on the map, and started out our trek. When we walk out of the double doors, we are instantly in the Piazza Della Signoria. In Florence, this is THE main spot to be for everything. We have all these 15-20 foot tall statues by Michelangelo and others all over the place. Well actually, some are replicas. So it was picturesque to see all these statues of history, especially old history. So we walked around the square, and then took off to the supermercato. It is probably three to four long blocks to the supermarket. Easy to get to. We also saw lots of salami shops, trattorias, and small markets. We picked up some good deals (especially the milk, which is UHT (ultra high pasteurized) and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. One liter of milk is like .59€. We bought our fill of things (and we actually bought some MEAT) and went to go pay. Of course, we got up to the checkout and we had no bags. So we had to buy some. Of course, now we have about four to five paid bags. We left the supermarket and took everything back home. Oh, I actually bought some beer. Lisa keeps telling me I don’t need it. But I bought four cans for about 1.50€. We got home and put everything back in the fridge and then went back out to walk around. I finally navigated us to the Ponte Vecchio and across it. There were tons of people selling Coach purses, and designer sunglasses, you wouldn’t even imagine. On the Ponte Vecchio were a lot of stores selling jewelry. On the other side of the bridge was of course more tourist garbage: leather stores, gelato stores (4.00€ for a small cup 4-6 oz)(we didn’t get any though I really wanted some), and other trinket stores. We went to go and look at the bridge from another angle and as I was staring down the Arno River, I noticed something moving. It looked like a napkin moving on the bank of the river. It turned out to be a RAT carrying something back to his home. Lisa couldn’t see, because the ledge was too far up and she couldn’t lean over to see down to the Arno. He was the size of a small Nerf football. After that we left for the apartment. When we got back to Piazza Della Signoria, we stopped and listened to this guy play guitar. He had an amplifier and just a guitar. We gave him a couple of euros. He was actually pretty good. Lisa wanted to pay 15€ for the CD. I told her we’d take it back to the apartment and then return it telling him it didn’t work in our CD player. I’d really copy it to the computer. Then we went back to the apartment. And that is now. Time for supper. My stomach hasn’t been agreeing with me with the food that I am actually making. I think I miss french fries and fried food. I was almost dying to go to McDonalds. So we have some meat now, and some basic pasta sauce. We shall see. So far we are doing pretty well for not eating out. I think the first night in Venice we ate at some Trattorias, but Lisa and I both got smart and stopped eating there. Just a simple sandwich was about 4-5€. What a waste, especially when you have to stretch out your money for 30 days. Okay, time to post this. Thanks for listening. I am not done yet. Lisa writing now. I agree with everything Luke wrote. I want to tell you about the building we are staying in. It is like 4 stories tall. The huge double doors to get in from the outside of the building are like 15 feet tall. They are so heavy you think you’ll open them slow so they don’t swing so hard that you can’t stop them. But they are heavy. You have a key to get into that door. Then walk 10 feet past a row of shiny gold mailboxes. To a 20 foot tall iron gate, it looks like prison bars. You also have to have a key to open that. It too is heavy. Then walk up 2 LONG flights of stairs. We are on the second floor though it feels like 3. When we look out the window we can’t see the ground unless we lean over and look over the edge. The buildings are too close together. I am very happy with this apartment. It is rustic. We have an old long dark wood table with a bench seat on one side and 4 old leather chairs that look like they were bought at an antique store. Surprisingly our fat butts are supported on them. Lets hope that continues. The kitchen has a “hotel fridge” you know a half one that men keep in the basement for beer. We have plenty of silverware, dishes, cookware etc. The only things I’ll gripe about the kitchen is: no forno (oven) and not enough counter space. The apartment is decorated nicely with little old looking pictures and groupings of pictures, old pieces of coordinating furniture. There are 2big old dressers and matching wardrobe in our bedroom with the 2 twin beds (also has TV). The double bed room has a chest high smaller dresser and TV also. The bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub/shower combo and a weird wash machine double antiquey sink and bidet and toilette. That’s about it for notables for the apartment. The keys for the actual apartment are large and weird as was the keys for our place in Venezia. The locks are different too, there is no turning door knob- just a knob that is used to pull the door shut/open. All in all we’re very happy with this apartment. NOW it is time for Luke to post for “free” perhaps in our entry way where there is a Wi- Fi signal. Ljf
Friday, April 20, 2007 3:25 Buona Sera. It is afternoon now and Luke and I have had a fun filled day of museums and churches filled with religious art and wandering around. We woke up with the cars and people talking at 7 am. Please also note that we slept poorly due to the sinking feeling in our beds, the warm room temperature and the crappy loose feather pillows. Luke said he would take a pillow from the couch and use that tonight. OK then, back to this morning. We got up with the sun today at 7 am via the alarm clock. We showered in our Jacuzzi tub and dealt with the shower head holder not holding the head upright. I hollered at Luke to get a screwdriver- he found none, I dealt with it. He returned to cooking a warm breakfast. It is hard for me to say this but we are getting tired of eating bread and cheese for breakfast and lunch for this last week. He threw a spin into this am’s routine; toasted bread, butter, jelly (which we bought last night for €1.50) and the last of the asiago cheese. Luke then fixed the shower head for his shower. We were out the door with wheat thins (we brought with us from walmart) and 2 apples. We forgot lots of stuff this AM: water, the mappa, my sunglasses etc. Oh, well. We tried to get free internet outside our apartment at the sidewalk café by getting a cuppa café. We were unable to as they were not open. It was interesting to see the piazza nearly abandoned and quiet. Off to the Accademia, we made pretty good time walking 15 or 20 min. So we arrived to the Academia, it did not look like it housed David or it was the museum visited by a million people per year. There was hardly a sign above the entrance or anything. So we found it and we were 1 hour early- great. We walked a bit found a tabacchi shop and had espresso for € 0.80 each. I actually had 2. We had to ask for latte’. It was really stiff and like less than an ounce. Oh well. I was sure hopppin after the second. We wandered around and looked at some of the shops that were less touristy and more for everyday Florentians. Our favorite shop of the spree was a video store. We looked at the Italian/European titles and how they were different from the titles of what we know. We saw a whole section of Roberto Benini movies. That was fun.We went in to the Accademia (€ 6.50 plus € 3.00 reservation fee) and Luke got an audio guide for € 8.00 for 1 player and headphones so 1 could listen on the audio guide and the other could listen on headphones. We will get smart and next time bring our own earphones and not pay the price. Luke says the audio guide was not worth it. I tend to agree. Rick didn’t help us here with the written tour because we couldn’t find it in the book. Damn it. We, of course, found it after the fact. We still read it though. The original David was not as breathtaking as I thought it would be. We sure got our time with him. We looked at him seated, standing, from front/back, a digital moveable model etc. One of the other highlights was the stone Prisoners by Michelangelo. It was people emerging from stone like they were trapped. I guess Michelangelo thought that he was working as an extension of God, letting God guide him and doing His will with the stone. There also was LOTS of artwork that would have been behind the altar of medieval churches. The same old stuff repeated, Jesus on the cross with a slit at his ribs and a skull at his feet, Mary with and exposed “water balloon” breast with JC feeding, saints surrounding JC. I was not excited to see these pieces of artwork that had been removed from their environments. They all felt like repeats. I found that I liked the realistic looking ones that had simple lines and were not overfilled with too much subject. We also went to the plaster cast room. It was a large room filled with hundreds of busts. All ages were featured; young and old ladies and men, children and grandparents. There were also plaster test pieces of works I’ve seen before. We left the relatively small Accademia after only about 90 minutes. We then had on the itinerary Rick’s renaissance walk. That took us from the Accademia to the church of San Lorenzo and markets of the same name. The church was where the Medici’s went to church. I liked the grey and white gothic architecture, the huge paintings in the little recesses where people pray (don’t know what they are called) were tucked in so it didn’t upset the flow of the huge church. There were special wood carved pulpits and other carvings done by Donatello. We paid € 2.50 per ticket.Then we went to the Medici Chapel.(€ 4.00 each) This was a “chapel” that the Medici’s made in honor of them selves and their rule. It was really really tall we can’t agree how tall it was. Even if I tell you the right number it wouldn’t seem tall enough. It was under construction and had lots of inlaid marbles, they were puzzle pieced to fit so tight in these gorgeous patterns on the floors and in family crests on the wall. There were Medici statues in the walls- some places were empty where a big statue should have been. I don’t know if this was just not done/filled or if they were under construction. We then went into my favorite part that was in the next room. It was Michelangelo’s Day/Night, Dusk/Dawn. A Medici prince was placed behind each pair of statues. Supposedly Michelangelo knew these 2 Medicis pretty well, can you imagine designing a room for the tombs of your buddies. I really liked the Rick Steves description as read by my lovely husband. We even had some English tourists come up to us (they overheard the description) and asked for clarification about the statues. We were glad to answer and to even speak congenially to another human being (in English). We spent a lot of time in that room despite the 50 Italian sixteen year olds that were so noisy and disrespectful. An Italian curator came in and yelled at the kids. We sat behind the altar area and mused at the statues. The theme was basically that time was the enemy. Rick said that if you are approaching middle age or a possible mid life crisis that one might well avoid the chapel. Michelangelo was also facing the ticking clock. He was doing the tombs of his contemporaries, also it was said the patrons who paid for his work even died while he was working on this monumental project. He did not finish the statue of the Madonna and a big 2 year old JC- the patrons had to go nab it out of his apartment when he left to do the Sistine chapel which was his last project. Can you believe? We then hit the bathroom and checked the gift shop (where the post cards were too much). Then we went to the San Lorenzo market. Saw lots of leather, lots of purses, illegal sunglasses and wallets. The guys carried just enough illegal stuff to carry discretely. They had belts wrapped around their hands and sunglasses strapped to a home made cardboard display board that could be collapsed and carried when the cops show. Oh, and they did show. Luke is certain that they had “lookouts” who hung around the cops where they were stationed and then sent a signal or text message to the guys selling. I looked at some of the designer wallets and they wanted 25 € and then I said no, they asked me how much I wanted to pay. Kept asking, I just had to walk away it is amazing how well they spoke English. I have only seen African Americans sell the contraband. They must all work together or work in some organized scheme to sell the stuff. Interesting. I did buy some wallets from a vendor- not name brand but Italian brand leather wallets. They have smaller wallets that are just for cards which is what I use mostly. So I bought those. I am wondering if I will buy a purse. They have so many nice ones. Luke and I continued to wander on back streets. We ended up toward the green and white marbled Duomo, took some pictures, but that is it. We’ll tour later, perhaps with Mom and Dad. We did achieve much more than our itinerary called for. We wandered more back streets, Luke drank all the water we bought. We enjoyed wheat thin crackers while sitting on a stone “bench” that lined the Emperio Armani store. With in our site there was a Louis Vittion Store, and a something else store. I can’t remember the name. We went eventually back to the apartment in a round about way and had a little lunch of crushed fresh garlic on toast with cheese. Boy was it garlicky it was almost like hot spicy. I still taste it well. While I was taking a break from typing talking to Luke on the couch we heard Vivaldi’s “Spring.” Luke asked me where that was coming from- I said “ The computer…duh” (you see the MP3s were on random playing). I go over to the computer to prove it too him and I was wrong! The violins were coming from the street. So I tell Luke to quick get his shoes on so we could go listen. We did and caught 2 young men playing in the street for change. We listened for 10 min. or so. We also did a fair amount of people watching. Then back up to the apartment to wait for my mother and father to arrive from the aeropuerto. We’ll go get a drink at the café and wait for them and Luke can use the free internet hot spot and post this and yesterday’s blog. Talk to you later. ljf