Florence, Aug.7

Aug. 7, 2012
Florence, Italy
Today was our busiest day yet on the tour. We got up early and took a water-taxi to the parking facilities located on the north edge of Venice, where we boarded a private bus for a 3½-hour ride to Florence.
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There we dropped our luggage off in a secure room at our hotel since the bedrooms weren’t ready yet. Then Monique led us on a 20-minute walk through the streets until we came to the Piazza del Duomo (“Cathedral Square”). Here, after we took a break for lunch (Gary and I found another little pizzeria), we met up with another local guide, Laura, who took us on a tour of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, also known as simply the Florence Cathedral).

Believe it or not, this church took 140 years to build -- construction started in 1296 and wasn’t fully completed until 1436! To be fair to the builders, work on the cathedral had to be stopped for a while in 1348 because of the Black Death, and it was a pretty mammoth project. It’s one of the largest churches in Italy and has the largest brick dome ever constructed in the world.

It is built in the Gothic and Gothic Revival styles, and is famous for its Renaissance dome built by Brunelleschi, its frescoes, its multi-hued marble exterior, and its 44 stained glass windows.

Because Italy is a conservative Catholic country, both men and women have to follow a “dress code” before they are allowed into any of the churches. This means no bare knees or shoulders. You have to wear long shorts, slacks or skirts that cover your knees, and your shoulders must be covered by sleeves or some kind of wrap such as a scarf. Some of the churches give away disposable plastic capes, but this particular cathedral didn’t. Luckily, I had packed a cardigan sweater on the off chance it would be chilly in Italy, and I brought it along with me to drape over my shoulders when we entered the church. (I was already wearing a sun dress that covered my knees.) This was a little uncomfortable in 90° weather in an un-air conditioned building, but we’ve gotten used to being hot on this trip.

One thing I didn’t bring along with me on this tour was my purse, which I deliberately left back at the hotel. Monique and our local guide warned us repeatedly about being on the look-out in Florence and Rome for pick-pockets, who are supposedly very good at what they do and do it just about anywhere, such as open squares, markets, banks, and churches. (Monique told us she once had a group where eight people all had their pockets picked while they were in line in a bank.) They recommend that you use a money belt for your cash and credit cards (you don’t need to carry your passport on you when you’re sightseeing unless you’re going to a bank). At the very least, you should carry your purse in front of you at all times so you can keep an eye on it.

Gary was wearing slacks with buttoned pockets, and he said his wallet should be perfectly safe because any pickpocket would have to get past the buttons first. I agreed that we would probably notice someone trying to unbutton his pockets, but I was still a little nervous and stood behind him much of the time so I could keep an eye on his pockets. (Gary says I’m paranoid, but I just think I’m careful.)

Another thing we had to watch out for in the squares was the panhandlers, who were quite aggressive. They’ll walk right up to you and hold their cups in your face. Many of these panhandlers are Gypsies. Monique told us later that the Italian government actually gives Gypsies a stipend of €1200 per month, which is higher than what many workers earn on their jobs. They do this because no one wants to hire Gypsies, as they have a reputation for stealing, pulling scams, or faking disabilities to inspire sympathy. I found the best way to deal with the panhandlers was to walk away, or else just turn my back on them if we were waiting in a particular spot to meet up with Monique. I know that sounds callous, but I think there are better ways to help people than by giving away all your spare change on the street. Besides, if they’re getting government support, they don’t need my spare change.

After the cathedral, our guide pointed out the bronze doors and other Florentine Romanesque features of the octagonal Baptistry of St. John across the street, then took us over to the Piazza della Signoria, a public square that acts as a meeting point for both Florentines and visitors. The main attraction in this square is the variety of statues by Renaissance artists such as Ammannati, Cellini, Donatello, and Giambologna. Some of these statues are in an open-air, arched gallery in a corner of the square called the Loggia dei Lanzi.

I had seen pictures of many of the sculptures in this square, such as “The Rape of the Sabine Women,” “Perseus,” and “The Fountain of Neptune” when we studied the Renaissance in school, so it was thrilling to actually see these works of art in person.

Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the “David” statue, also used to be in this square, but the one you see there today is a copy (although a very high-quality copy). The original was moved to the Accademia Gallery in Florence in 1873 in order to better preserve it. Monique had tried to get our group reserved tickets to the Academy and to the Uffizi Gallery, where many other masterpieces are on display, so we wouldn’t have to wait in the general admission line.Unfortunately, reserved tickets were already totally booked and she was not able to get them. Gary and I debated whether we wanted to stand in line for hours in order to see the original David, but ultimately decided against it. We only have two days in Florence, and we don’t want to spend the majority of a whole day waiting in a line. Maybe we’ll do it on a longer trip in the future.

Besides, the replica is expert enough to give you a good idea of what the original must be like. One thing you notice is that David’s head and his right hand seem abnormally large. That’s because they are – Michelangelo carved them that way on purpose because the statue was originally supposed to be installed on the roofline of the Florence Cathedral, and the larger proportions would have looked normal when the statue was viewed from below.

After the guided tour, we were taken to a leather shop for another demonstration and sales pitch. The demonstration was more of a series of tips on how to determine fake leather from genuine, and it was actually pretty informative. Basically, you can never trust what the vendor tells you, the smell of the item, or even the tag inside the item that says “100% Genuine Leather.” (Illegal or unethical vendors will tell you anything to get you to buy; they often use sprays to give a synthetic item a leathery smell; and the tag could be made of genuine leather, but not the item itself.) A lot of illegal vendors will also pretend to hold a lighter to the item, because real leather is not supposed to burn easily.

Instead, look for irregular pores; feel for rough edges where the fabric has been cut; and separate the lining from the garment or item to look for the suede underside that real leather will always have. (As soon as I got back to the hotel, I checked the supposedly 100% genuine leather shoulder bag I got in Mexico several years ago. Thankfully it did have suede undersides on the seams, so I wasn’t cheated.)

Then of course we were paraded through their shop in hopes that we would buy something. They did have some nice leather handbags there, but I already have some leather handbags and wasn’t interested. And of course, they were all expensive.

After this, Monique treated us all to slushies at a little snack shop, then we headed back to the hotel to get our luggage and check in. This hotel, Pallazzo Ricasoli on via delle Mantellate, is comprised of an older building and a newer one. Gary and I are in the newer building, which is so ultra-modern that it took a while to figure out how all of the various features worked. For example, the lights in your room won’t stay on until your room key-card is hung up on a hook in front of a motion sensor. I guess it’s meant to ensure that you always know where your room key is. Other nice features include wooden slats instead of window blinds that you have to manually crank open or closed; an emergency cord in the shower that you’re supposed to pull if you have an accident in there; and a bidet (actually, most Italian hotels have these last two).

Dinner tonight was another group affair at a local restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel called Ristorante Alfredo on via Don Giovanni Minzoni, one of the oldest restaurants in Florence (dating from the 1920s). This time we had five courses: spaghetti Bolognese, polenta with mushrooms, a variety of meats (thinly sliced rare beef, pork, short ribs, and pork hocks), zucchini, and gelato with fruit. I still haven’t seen any fat Italians since we’ve been here. If they eat this way all the time, it really is a mystery how they do it.

After dinner, Gary and I stopped off and got a bottle of wine at a local grocery store across the street from our hotel. Although the Tuscany region is famous for its white Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine, we were searching for a red wine Monique had told us about called Brunello, a robust, full-bodied red which is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes and has been aged for at least four years. The grocery store didn’t have any Brunello, but the lady behind the counter recommended another red wine which wasn’t bad. Our hotel has a terrace on the roof where some of the girls from our tour group were gathering, so we took our wine and some plastic glasses up there, pulled up some lounge chairs, and had a nice talk with everyone before turning in for the night.