Thankfully that was only a short trip, and only added about 6minutes to our journey time. We left Pompeii at 9am, and arrived in Florence at 415pm! It was a lot of train time, and I have to get use to it! After not being able to access a map, we were unable to find the way to our Hostel, but thankfully Leonardo came and found us. After checking in we went exploring la bella citta that is Firenze. I took Mother to Il Duomo at Santa Maria del Fiore and let her marvel at its size, and kept telling her that it was even more amazing when you get inside. It was closed for the day, so we couldn't yet go in, but we allowed the evening to our wandering feet.
Next we decided to go down to the Ponte Vecchio, on the Fiume Arno . We arrived at the magical time of sunset, and, man oh man, it was beautiful! Now, I do love Firenze already, but seeing this lovely sight made it more special for me, and it made Florence special for Mum. It really was a sight that would't be as lovely if you tried to time it, and I think that our wandering upon it unexpectedly made it even more so. All the shops had shut for the day, but today we ventured to the old bridge and peered into the the windows filled with gold and silver, and all types of jewels that you wouldn't see anywhere else. they really were beautiful. On my first visit to Florence I didn't have the time to marvell at all the pretty things in the shop windows, and I don't think that at 16 I wouldn't have appreciated the craftsmanship that is exhibited in those little shop windows.
The next morning, prior to re-visiting the Ponte Vecchio, we placed ourselves in the queue for Santa Maria del Fiore, and to look up at the largest free-stading duomo, by the master Brunelleschi. It was more special after studing it, and knowing how, and by whom it was made. After seeing that people were walking around the outside of il Duomo, I remembered that we were able to do the same. So after falling in love with the dome and the wonderful art that adorned its insides, we located the entrance to the 463 stairs that lead to heaven... well not literally. It was breathtaking to be so close to the beautiful depictions of Hell, Heaven, Christ and Men, I didn't actually want to leave; I wanted to examine every part of that dome. We continued our assent, of the most narrow staircase I have seen. It was pretty darn cool to be climbing between to layers of the dome (this is part of nerdy, Renaissance Emma, and hopefully architecture nerds would appreciate this, too.) Finally we reached the top and took the last 10 stairs to the outside. It really was spectacular. We could see castles on top of faraway hills, and the people down below looked like insects on the ground. The sky was a lovely blue, the sun was shining, and the air was fresh. Terracotta tiles covered Florentine rooftops. Again, I didn't really want to leave. The panoramic view of the city is something that is so picturesque and I wanted to implant it in my memory for life. Seeing this has already been one of the most amazing things I have done in Italy. It was definitely worth, possibly plus more, the 8 euros. We eventually had to descend, down a very steep and narrow staircase, and when we got back to the top level of the inside of the dome, I fell in love again with the art. Mum had to force me back down to ground level. I really could have stayed there, and walked around in circles for a few hours.
So in between andafter the il Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, we did some exploring, and looking at the markets, and all the leather bags and leather-bound books. On Saturday we had a full day to explore Tuscany, so we took the train to Siena, where the famous Pallio is. We climbed another 400 steps that day, to the top of the Torre del Mangia (I hope thats what it is called) for spectacular views of Siena from the sky and the Tuscan country side. Castles and Churches scattered the faraway hills. It was a lovely day out, and we had pizza and gelati for lunch, yumm! It took a bit to navigate the bus system, but we finally got back to Ferrovia for the train back to Florence. We raced back to the Ponte Vecchio so that Mother could by the Fleur de L'ile for her Pandora bracelet. Then I went for some shopping time in H&M. Then back to our wi-fi/TV lacking hotel, for bed.
up, up, up, up, up the stairs we goooooo
and down
I took mother to see David, she like him. he is pretty spectacular! When I saw him with school, we rushed in, admired David, and then left. The was nothing else that I saw, or remembered. This time, I was going to see the whole galleria. And I did! My favourite peice of sculpture in there was called Daphne and Chloe. If Davide wasn't so spectacular, D&C would ecplise him.
Yes, it really was. But not as big as the line for il Colosseo
On Sunday it was Mother's day, and I prepared a lovely feast for breakfast for Mother (from the Hotel breakfast), complete with a new Pandora charm. Then we went to the train Station to take the train to Venice. It was only a 2 hour train ride, nothing compared to Pompeii to Florence, and it was pretty cruezy. We were only spending one night in Venizia, so we did some exploring of the many passages though the winding canals. Once we figured out to follow the yelllow signs, we were alright, and not so lost. The upside of being lost was that we discovered some cute little bridges, and some amazing shops of masks and art. I really liked the little art shop with water paintings of the Commedia dell'Arte characters. The masks were more amazing than I remembered.
We arrived at St Mark's Square only to find a line and a security check, and later, after some inquiring, we learned that all these measures we in place to protect, no other than the Pope! We did wait a little bit, but decided that food was more important. So for Mother's day I treated Mum to a lovely dinner along the Grand Canal.
Today is Monday, and I hope that Carlton whip St Kilda's arse in the footy.
Go Blues from Italia!
xx
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