This morning we got up with a leisurely schedule. Our train does not leave until 10:15 so we are not rushing to eat, pack and check out. This meant that we could delay eating until the students were finished and the food was replenished.
We arrived at the train station (a mere 5 minute walk) early enough to figure out what platform to go to and get settled. As it turns out the train was late by about 10 minutes and we found the platform without any problem. What was funny is that the board listing departures did not include the platform we were going to have to go to (there are about 25 platforms) until 10 minutes before it arrived. So here we were standing (along with a lot of other people) watching the electronic board waiting. Then when they announced which platform it was a mad rush.
With our Eurail passes we were able to get first class seating but had to make reservations. With reservations you also are assinged the coach and seat so we had to figure out which end of the train would be coach one. They had that figured out with signs along the platform indicating which car would be loading at which area. As it turns out coach one was at the far end of the platform but at least it was the first coach after the engine. In Greece the coach number was hard to figure out since the numbering skipped the diner car, so to figure out the numbers you first had to find the diner, then count and skip it. It was confusing.
The seating in first class is wonderful with reclining seats and lots of room. And first class is offered a beverage and snack complimentary. We wondered how the second class riders were doing. No matte soon we will find out I am sure. I should mention this was the fast train so the trip took only 1 ½ hours rather than 4 hours.
We had researched the route from the train station to our hotel and created a PDF file and sent it to the blackberry. However, when we got off the train and headed out of the station, we were not sure how to orient the map. So with the help of the GPS, we started to walk but for some reason we walked the wrong direction. The problem with the GPS is it is oriented for driving on the roads, so we have to be careful since there are a lot of one way streets here. No matter, it only meant that we took a 10 minute detour and found the hotel without a problem. It is about a 10 minute walk from the railway station.
We learned that we are the first customers of this hotel which feels like a converted appartment floor. I there there are only 4 rooms and they are all new and fresh. The proprietors are really nice and of course very anxious to ensure we are comfortable. There is a kitchen next to our room which is fully equiped and we are welcome to use it if we wish. So tonight we stopped at a store and picked up dinner to avoid going out this evening.
At any rate, we were given a city map and some really helpful hints about the best way to get around the city, which buses to take and were to catch them. It really was very nice to feel so welcomed and helped. The best discovery was when we were told where there was a self-serve cafeteria where the meals are very economical. We found the DFT in what looks like a run down factory building and having very little signage. However it is close to the railway and the lunch we had there was excellent and about what what we would normally spend for a light lunch and a 1/3 what we would pay for a full dinner. This is a place that seems to have the locals who work at the railway station as clients and I suspect it is not well known amoung the tourists. Even better it is about a 5 minute walk from our hotel.
We continued after eating lunch to walk down to the Piazza del Duomo. Piazza del Duomo is located in the heart of the historic center of Florence. Is one of the most visited place in the Europe and the world; here we can find the Florence Cathedral with the Cupola del Brunelleschi, the Giotto's Campanile, the Florence Baptistery, the Loggia del Bigallo, the Opera del Duomo Museum, and the Arcivescovile and Canonici's palace. The west zone of this square is called San Giovanni square.
Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral is the fourth church of Europe by size, its length is 153 m (501.97 ft) and its height is 116 m (380.58 ft). The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy, begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival facade by Emilio De Fabris. We enjoyed the beauty of the outside but commented on the need for a cleaning. Inside was spectacular and majestic. We were not aware until later that we could climb up to the top of the cupola and get the same views that we did on the Giotto’s Bell Tower. However one tower in the same location is enough.
Standing adjacent the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery of St. John, is the Giotto's Bell Tower. The tower is one of the showpieces of the Florentine Gothic architecture with its design by Giotto, its rich sculptural decorations and the polychrome marble encrustations. We paid the 6 Euros each to climb to the top to have an unobstructed 360 degree view over Florence. The climb was very interesting and again test our ability to breath as we climbed up all 417 steps. Many of the sections were very narrow and when we met people coming down we had to turn sideways to pass. On spiral steps turning sideways can be a challenge, but we managed it.
The octagonal Baptistery of St. John stands across from the Duomo cathedral and the Giotto bell tower . It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style. The Baptistry is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures. The east pair of doors was dubbed by Michelangelo "the Gates of Paradise". We enjoyed our views but decided to not pay 4 euro each to have a look inside this building.
Down a narrow lane we headed to look for the Academy of Fine Arts. Since this is the gallery with the statue of David we were told to expect long lineups. There was lineup when we got there but it was not that long and others we chatted with told us how earlier the lineup was around the corner. We stood in line for about 15 minutes which was fine since we had a great chat with 3 young people (US University students taking courses in Europe – one in England, one in Scotland and one in Italy) who had lots of great suggestions of things to do and places to go. In particular we talked about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Five Villages Walk. Our second great surprise for the day was to learn that this week week is call ‘Cultural Week’ and there was no admission fees collected. Today is the first day so it may be that as we spend time here in Florence we will not be paying admission fees – how sweet that would be. Of course once again I could not take any pictures but I did get one from the internet of David to include.
The Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine Arts") has housed the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was allegedly brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, although other factors were involved in its move from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria. The original intention was to create a 'Michelangelo museum', with original sculptures and drawings, to celebrate the fourth centenary of the artist's birth. Today the gallery's small collection of Michelangelo's work includes his four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, and a statue of Saint Matthew, also unfinished. In 1939 these were joined by a Pietà discovered in the Barberini chapel in Palestrina, though experts now consider its attribution to Michelangelo to be dubious.
Among the notable renaissance works on display are an outstanding collection of 15th and 16th century Florentine paintings by Paolo Uccello, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto and, from the High Renaissance, Giambologna's original plaster for the Rape of the Sabine Women. As well as a number of Florentine Gothic paintings, the gallery houses the idiosyncratic collection of Russian icons assembled by the Grand Dukes of the House of Lorraine, of which Leopoldo was one.
We spent a lot of time exploring the history of musical instruments and I learned the difference between a piano movement and the original pinaoforte (or fortepiano) movements. The displays were all encompassing.
Then we looked at the many scupltures and pictures. In one room there were the clay models used by the artists of sculptures who created the image in clay first. These were original models of famous scultpures and the collection was impressive.
By the time we finished walking through this museum we both were exhausted and our feet were once again complaining. It was about 5:30 so we headed back to the hotel only stopping at a grocery store to pick up supplies and ate in tonight. We are enjoying the touring but our feet are really taking a beating. They will survive but we are told often to give them a rest more often. We will have to see if that happens.
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