Out of town

At the end of a narrow street you are
greeted by the dome

 My Friday lessons being cancelled was a bit of a double bonus – first J and I wouldn’t be making painful journey to the mineral powder company and two I got myself another long weekend.  To celebrate I hopped on a train and spent the weekend kicking around Florence.  I first visited the place about 16 years ago during my first Italian sojourn and I haven’t been back since, then I was a backpacker staying in hostels and saving every penny or lira as it was then, for museum entries and cheap meals.  This time thanks to lastminute.com I was able to splash out on a reasonably priced hotel.  Having booked the weekend on a whim I was rather dismayed to read the weather predictions were for three days of rain but you know it takes more than precipitation to kill my mood.

After so long in Treviso, Florence at first seemed like the big city – which it most definitely is not.  Traffic suddenly seemed deafening and the crowds overwhelming.  Thankfully my hotel was on the river in a more peaceful part of town.  Not only famed for its beauty Florence was the centre of the renaissance and as a result of a couple of rich families playing a game of artistic one upmanship the city is a treasure trove of art, sculpture and architecture.  With the Uffizi and Academia being just two of a seemingly inexhaustible supply of museums where does the bewildered traveller start?  Me? Well I started in a very Raji fashion at a junk market (I visited both the Uffizi and Academia on my last visit and so felt I could give myself a free pass this time.)  I love riffling through stuff other people no longer want so if there’s a flea market about you will most likely find me there -  in fact I could write a book called flea markets of the world except I want to keep the good ones a secret.  The Florentine one while small was packed with some gems; old postcards and records, furniture from anywhere between the late 1800s to now, clothes and various household goods. The flea market allowed me to indulge my love of early 20^th century ceramics with the purchase of a pair of gorgeous art deco coffee cups – the fact that I managed the haggle in Italian will make the using of them all the more satisfying. 

Brunelleschi’s dome is, of course the famous symbol of the city and walking about the city you catch glimpses of it at the end of the endless narrow streets.  The cathedral that it sits atop is a beautiful piece of renaissance architecture given that the heavens threatened to open any second I decided against climbing to the top of the dome and focused more on viewing the interior.  Inside I found it quite plain but then again next to the rich decoration of San Marco everything seems plain. 

After a pretty awesome dinner where yet again my eyes were greedier than my stomach I was intending to have a bit of a night time walk and find a nice bar for a pre bed digestive but walking through Piazza dei Signori I was delighted to find that the Palazzo Vecchio was still open.  I’ve always thought museums should be open in the evenings and when I lived in London I would often visit museums at the end of the day – in the last hour when they were usually empty and of course free.   So Instead of a drink I digested while wondering around the sumptuous rooms of the Medici palace being so late I practically had the place to myself and could get lost in the paintings and the admire amazing craftsmanship without feeling the need to move on.   

Day two and the rain that had mercifully stayed away the day before arrived and when I woke there was a light but consistent drizzle.  My first stop was coffee and a wander around the central produce market which I can only describe as the Queen Vic Markets on steroids.  As I took my morning coffee surrounded by market workers with tired craggy faces I felt a bit out of place sipping my cappuccino as they, nearly all to a man, drank large slugs of Jameson’s – I’d like to think that by 9 am they have pretty much done a full days work....maybe?  The markets themselves are a wonder to behold with colourful veggies and great stacks of dried mushrooms and tomatoes.  A host of olive oils that I wish I had the ability to bring back with me.  As well as all the wonderful local produce there was a healthy smattering of ethnic stalls selling jackfruit, different varieties of chilli and other goods rendering the produce market reason enough for this foodie to move to Florence.  

   

The Tower peaks out from behind the cathedral

After the markets I caught a train to Pisa to see the tower. As famous as the tower is and as many images as I have seen of it I was surprised that on actually seeing it there in front of me my first reaction was “blimey! it really does lean.”  Even without its precarious tilt the tower would be another jewel of the renaissance but in my opinion the lean gives the thing a bit of character – almost as if it’s saying I’m not going to be like all the others.  No one seems to mention the cathedral which is surprising as it’s stunning and unusually for renaissance churches it has a beautiful mosaic above the main alter.  The town itself was lovely to walk around (would have been better without the rain though) and full of surprises – like a large mural by Keith Herring – I’m sure many people know it’s there but it was a complete surprise to me. 

After a good few hours of walking the drizzle that had turned into rain finally defeated me and it was back to Florence and a brief rest before venturing out for dinner.  Now being a solo traveller there often times in new places when I’m out at alone.  It seems a shame to miss out on the night time vibe because you don’t have a partner to drink with.  After years of practice I can now say that I have a bit of a nose for a good friendly bar and that night I found another one of those, a lively place where the bar staff are make you feel at home and chat.  Unfortunately I was so tired from two days of walking and not much sleep in the days leading up that I couldn't stay for more than one drink before I had to get back to my hotel and collapse.

The Sun finally came out

It was strange walking about and having memories from 16 years ago – that was the place where I got gelati, that was the hole in the wall place that did the awesome sandwiches and the so cheap it’s practically free wine.  I didn’t remember so many tourists or maybe I just wiped them from my memory but the place is awash with them – not that they don’t have a right to be there I just wish they would walk a bit faster.  After three days of walking I’m ready for a rest.  As I write this on the train back to Treviso I realise that it’s been a while since my legs have that post sightseeing tiredness – it’s always a pleasant feeling but never the less I’m looking forward to a shower, bed and of course visiting the next place.