A Day In The Life. . .

As we walked through the lobby to head to the Accademe, an older gentleman quipped, “they look as enthusiastic as my family.” But the day got better.

For me, it started getting better when we approached the Accademe, went past the two long, long lines, and walked right in with our reserved tickets. Looking at the lines, I figured one of the two was the line for people with reservations, but that wasn’t the case.

I’m all for equality and brotherhood, but if I can avoid a damn long line because our travel agent had the foresight to recommend timed tickets, I’m going to take it (and so should you).

Post security, the ticket line was one family deep, so we breezed right in -- both past the long lines and in the ticket area. Pretty sweet.

Before writing about the David, another riff:

The admission policies in Italy are very much hit and miss. Sometimes Torie’s ticket is free. Sometimes all three are free. Sometimes we have to pay full ticket prices for all of us. Some times reduced tickets are only for Europeans, sometimes they are for all. Most churches are free, but some cost money. Buying full price tickets for five isn’t cheap, so the ridotto tickets (reduced price) are a nice perk.

Back to the David. After admiring some unfinished Michelangelo sculptures, we came to the David. Because they limit the number of people entering at any one time, you can walk around it relatively easily. You can stop and admire different vantage points without a problem. No pictures are allowed.

I overheard the following conversation while admiring the David from the back.

Teenage boy: “Mr. Wright, can I take a picture?”
Adult: “No. No pictures at all. Buy a postcard.”
Boy: “But I want a picture from the back.”
Adult: “Buy two postcards.”

We spent some time there, and then walked into other parts of the gallery before going back outside, past the riff-raff standing outside. I spit on them for not having the foresight to get advanced tickets. They were ashamed. (I totally made the last two sentence up, but it would have been pretty cool had it actually happened, all brotherhood aside.)

It was just a few blocks to the Duomo, which is stunning on the outside. Unfortunately, inside a large chunk of it was roped off to get ready for Easter, so we couldn’t get a good look at the inside of the Dome (but could see some of it).

Climbing the 414 steps of the Campanile was worth the effort, as we were afforded excellent views all aroudn Florence. Even the overcast skies couldn’t dampen the views.

We then walked to the outdoor market that sprawls for blocks around Mercato Centrale. The girls bought souvenirs as I toyed with the idea of buying a leather coat (ultimately did not pull the trigger). As we were walking away, however, I spotted a ceramics store with beautiful pieces. We asked about a table that was about double our budget. As we were leaving, the guy helpfully pointed out the reason for the price is that is six different patterns, and a table with one pattern is half price.

We wheeled around and played “let’s make a deal.” In two months or so we’ll have a beautiful hand designed side table for our patio. Perfect for decanting wine (if you know what I mean and our friends will know what that means – many late summer nights relaxing in our backyard while the kids run around).

By the time we got to Piazza della Republica for lunch, it was pouring out. We had been lucky up top of the Campanile – not even a drizzle.

We ate outside (under cover) at the same restaurant (Giubbe Rosi, famous as an artistic hangout) where Carol had lunch with Annette, Marney, and Patty two years ago on their famous trip through Italy. The caprese salad was excellent, and I had pasta with gorgonzola (which was mighty tasty). Carol had the pici pasta.

As it poured down rain, I reflected that I was already enjoying this trip to Florence much more than in 1984 (remember, I was on a much more limited budget then, and there’s only so much art this Iron Tourist can handle).

We walked back to the hotel for our rain gear and a short recharging of the batteries. Frankly, we needed a plan for the afternoon. Carol and I basically came up with the same one – Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Vivoli Gelatto, and Santa Croce. While the Iron Tourist was feeling pretty strong, the Little Irons were a little tired. But we pressed on anyhow.

Ponte Vecchio was fun to walk across with the mobs of people and the stores all open. The sun started coming out as we approached the bridge. So, raincoats came off (too warm), and my sunglasses would have gone on had I not left them in the room.

We bought the limited entrance tickets for Palazzo Pitti, rather than go through the whole thing. Our main interest was to see the gardens. . .and hiking up the hill and walking back down another route was a good boost – we all needed some extended fresh air in the outdoors, rather than shuffling from one church to another museum. The views of Florence and beyond were tremendous, and looked like postcards. The Palazzo itself is huge – probably larger than any residence I’ve ever seen.

After walking around for a while, we headed for the exit. On the way back, we stopped in a boutique so Julia could shop for a confirmation dress. The subplots surrounding this were typical. Anything Carol suggested as we passed by other stores was immediately rejected by Julia. If Carol had said she hated the sackcloth and ashes look, Julia might have wanted to wear it. Meanwhile, Maddy and Torie were wondering when my head would explode – we had already gone shopping earlier in the outdoor market.

I sat down and didn’t do anything but hand over the American Express when a selection was reached. More importantly, Carol did not pass judgement on any dress (we BOTH like what Julia picked out, but we did not tell her that until after the purchase was made).

We pressed on to find Vivoli. It was a bit of a haul on a side street, but worth it. A book of Top Tens (drives, hotels, restaurants, etc.) had listed it as one of the top ten ice creams in the world. I’m sorry, but when you are in the same city as one of the top ten ice creams, you make it a point to find the place. It was very, very good. Top 10? Well, I don’t know about that, but it was the best gelatto we found so far in Italy.

Then we went to Santa Croce, a church where A list Florentines are buried. . .Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Dante (now that’s a Fab Four). That’s worth the trip.

Given that Maddy and Torie were crashing and burning (Julia had slept well last night, and was also excited about her dress purchase experience), we headed back to the hotel – a forced march on the other side of town.

We relaxed a while before going to dinner.

A couple of travelers tips:

At least for traveling in Europe, do NOT use Travelers Checks. We discovered that in 2003 they were just a pain in the arse to cash. We saw some folks having the same frustration on this trip. Simply use your ATM card to get cash. Heck, the exchange rate will be better through your bank/credit union than when purchasing the Travelers checks.

I had searched on-line for top restaurants in Rome. Wish I had done the same in Florence and Venice. Our Florence meals were okay, but nothing spectacular. We went to two great restaurants in Rome (and Alfredo’s was good) and also the one in Radda. The best list for Rome was from Frommer’s site – which listed the best of various types of restaurants, so there was a wide variety to choose from (best for kids, best for wine, best for views, best for traditional, best for novella cuisine, etc.). So, go on line as well as using guide books. Having multiple sources can help you make a more informed choice.

Anyhow, we wanted something not too fancy – Maddy and Torie had fallen sound asleep before going to dinner, so I found Buca Mario, which had room after room of tables. When we got there at 7:30 it was empty, but it filled up quickly. Dating from the 1880s, the restaurant has been in the same family since its founding (kind of like a McDonalds in the States).

I ordered a Cabreo 2001, a Super Tuscan from Greve in Chianti. The waiter was very complimentary of the choice. I listened as nearby tables ordered wine, and they don’t give the same effusive praise for ordering the house wine.

Borrowing an idea from Rick Stark, I asked the girls what they liked the best that day. Torie and Julia both liked the open air market the most, while Maddy preferred the Campanile. Carol liked Santa Croce and the gardens at Pitti Palazzo the most. My favorite was the David.

I had the pesto pasta (there’s a fancier name for it, but that’s pretty descriptive) and Osso buca. Some pesto can be too strong, but this was quite good (when I ordered it, the waiter double checked with me to make sure I knew what it was). Carol had Tuscan meats, followed by fried lamb (some fancy name). Julia had the lamb, while the other two had pasta. The Osso Buca was quite good, but Carol didn’t enjoy her fried lamb. She had just read about it a book, “1,000 days in Tuscany,” but it did not live up to the author’s description.

The table of Americans nearby were funny to listen to. The woman wanted to know what was in the lasagne. The waiter knows English, but not well enough to talk about all ingredients in a dish – so she had no idea what was in it. They also had no interest in trying anything they hadn’t tried before. And ordered the house wine. They wondered why our wine was decanted and theirs was not.

Given how tired everyone was (including Mrs. Iron Tourist), we headed back to the hotel to be ready for our train to Venice.

One full day in Florence is plenty (unless you are really into art, in which case take a lifetime). But, we really enjoyed the day. Despite my concerns in the morning, everyone did pretty well. In fact, in my 1984 college student bum around Europe trip, Florence was my least favorite stop (except for the food). Florence has redeemed herself in my eyes (I'm SURE that makes Florentines feel MUCH better about their city now!).