Thursday 3 November 2011
We got up early for our trip to Florence with Lisa (who had an early plane to catch the next morning, back to the States). Using Colleen's car and our GPS we entered the city near the train station and found our cute little hotel situated within five blocks of the Ponte Vecchio (the covered bridge dating from 1345 that was the only one not destroyed by retreating German soldiers in World War II).
We dumped our stuff in the room and hurried over to the Uffizi Gallery where we had reservations for 3 PM. The ceilings and halls were decorated with all kinds of cherubs and scenes while the gallery walls were hung with the masters like Michelangelo and Rembrandt. One room even had a continuous loop of movies that were filmed in the Uffizi -- by director Brian DePalma, "Room With A View," a George Hamilton/Sandra Dee flick etc. We went up to the terrace and had an espresso, (remember NO CAPPUCCINO AFTER TOMATOES) then went down to the gift store where Nicole bought three books in English.
Strolling around we took many photos of the Arno river with the city lights reflected in it. In Firenze -- how did we get "Florence" out of that? -- we were able to watch artisans still working in their shops late in the evening. It felt like going back in time to see patterns and wooden hat forms in a milliner's shop run by Tobia, who graciously helped Dian try on some hats.
As anyone can tell you, dark chocolate is the best panacea for tired "'ffizis," so we indulged in four pieces to save for a bit later, when dinner was done. We found a great restaurant near our hotel that served cream sauce with gnocchi, spaghetti and tortellini (more north, hence the cream-based dishes). Then came the meat/fish course, which we enjoyed despite the tables of English-speaking tourists right next to us. Dian felt slightly less exotic with the familiar accents but admitted that sometimes it's a welcome sound. We crashed in our respective beds and while Charles worked on the computer in the lobby, Lisa, Nicole and Dian chatted like girls at a slumber party.
We got up early for our trip to Florence with Lisa (who had an early plane to catch the next morning, back to the States). Using Colleen's car and our GPS we entered the city near the train station and found our cute little hotel situated within five blocks of the Ponte Vecchio (the covered bridge dating from 1345 that was the only one not destroyed by retreating German soldiers in World War II).
We dumped our stuff in the room and hurried over to the Uffizi Gallery where we had reservations for 3 PM. The ceilings and halls were decorated with all kinds of cherubs and scenes while the gallery walls were hung with the masters like Michelangelo and Rembrandt. One room even had a continuous loop of movies that were filmed in the Uffizi -- by director Brian DePalma, "Room With A View," a George Hamilton/Sandra Dee flick etc. We went up to the terrace and had an espresso, (remember NO CAPPUCCINO AFTER TOMATOES) then went down to the gift store where Nicole bought three books in English.
Strolling around we took many photos of the Arno river with the city lights reflected in it. In Firenze -- how did we get "Florence" out of that? -- we were able to watch artisans still working in their shops late in the evening. It felt like going back in time to see patterns and wooden hat forms in a milliner's shop run by Tobia, who graciously helped Dian try on some hats.
As anyone can tell you, dark chocolate is the best panacea for tired "'ffizis," so we indulged in four pieces to save for a bit later, when dinner was done. We found a great restaurant near our hotel that served cream sauce with gnocchi, spaghetti and tortellini (more north, hence the cream-based dishes). Then came the meat/fish course, which we enjoyed despite the tables of English-speaking tourists right next to us. Dian felt slightly less exotic with the familiar accents but admitted that sometimes it's a welcome sound. We crashed in our respective beds and while Charles worked on the computer in the lobby, Lisa, Nicole and Dian chatted like girls at a slumber party.
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| Tobia, the young apprentice designer/milliner |
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| The Ponte Vecchio |
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| Tobia and model |
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