Buon Natale 2015

Buon Natale da Firenze - 2015

First of all I wish all my friends and family around the world a very joyous holiday season in whichever manner you celebrate.  Take the moment to reflect on the past year and see how we can make it better in 2016 for ourselves, our loved ones and others that we intersect with us.

I am in Firenze (Florence) with Ava for this holiday season and we are planning on heading out for a good Christmas Eve Florentine bistecca.  For the uninitiated that is a huge slab of specialty beef cooked (barely) to the chefs instructions and shared amongst the table.  The going price this week is approx. euro 45/kg and add that all the extras plus wine and dessert. Ouchamagoucha!!  Oh well, it is a special day.

It has been 20 days since my last post.  I do apologise for the delay but I really do have some good excuses...I mean reasons.  Internet connection here at Pza. Torquato Tasso 17 has been very poor since our arrival and only got that sorted out on the 18th Dec.  So now I have really good connection and can watch Netflix, listen to BBC and catch up on my Canadian shows thanks to Hola VPN.

What have I been up to since the last post?  Well here is a break down with some snaps of the destinations.

LUCCA - Weather was incredible.

Day trip.  It meant a train ride to Pisa and then the local train for the half hour ride to Lucca.

Wall circling Lucca

The first train was great as it was one of the newer double deck cars with comfortable seats and a quiet ride.  The local train was a bone rattler.  
Lucca is an incredible city.  The old city is enclosed by ancient walls that have a huge promenade on top that is used as a park, jogging space and overall recreation.

I was told that during WWII this city was not bombed by either sides of the conflict. The city is preserved with very limited vehicle traffic allowed in and therefore it is a great pedestrian venue.  Well worth the trip.

Top of Lucca wall

Now I know that some people are wondering why I am not including tons of photos of the places where I have been and giving historical  background as well.  To put it simply it is easier for the reader to google the interested sites and look at the web descriptions as well as the images.  The images will be far better than I can provide. 
Besides, I don't want to have a lawsuit from someone claiming copyright infringement.  









VENEZIA / Venice

Arrived in Venezia via fast train from Florence.  Only a two hour trip on the FrecciArgento treno.  Super crowded going there but lots of empty seats to move about on the return.
When you arrive by train in Venezia and walk out onto the Grand Canal to catch your water bus it is just a bloody incredible first impression.  I was hooked on the city from that moment.

View from tower in St. Marks Square

We stayed at the Hotel Marconi, which is about 50 meters from the Rialto Bridge, and right on the water.  We scored a deal on booking.com for only 49 euro/night with breakfast included.  So central to everything.

We only had two days to see Venice and therefore a whole lot of walking was involved.  But for those who have been to Venice there is the added luxury of no car traffic.  Such a nice change from Florence where you have to dodge the drivers while keeping an eye out for sidewalk dog bombs. on the 1.5 feet usually allotted to pedestrians on the side streets.
We got into Venice before lunch, checked in and hit the pavement.  As Ava had been here before I relied on her to be my guide.  Probably not my wisest decision as her main goal was to stop in almost every souvenir shop and look.  I am not kidding, I would be walking along, turn around to see where she is and then have to backtrack and look in the shop windows.  Sometimes I was lucky and only had to go about 50 feet or so.  I am now going to adopt a policy of a safe place to meet in case we get separated.  That safe place will have a bartender to be sure.

Our first night ended with a nice dinner beside the Grand Canal, and even better is that the canal did not smell that bad.  Can't say that about the subsequent days.

Second day was a trip to Murano, a 40 minute water bus ride to the island that is famous for their glass making.  Again Ava was on a mission for something and I wandered about with the occasional look back.  She asked me to be kind to her when I blog about this, but for those who have travelled with me (Liane) you know how much I really love (not) going shopping.  Unless it is for shoes and then I have found this wonderful Italian leather shoe store right near the Pitti Palace and Ponte Vecchio.  I have been called a shoe whore on more than one occassion.
I bought a wonderful wine cork with a glass blown top, only to have it fall off when I got it back home.  Oh well, easy to fix.

Glass Sculpture on Murano

Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venezia.

A must see for anyone who is into great artwork.  This museum is housed in Peggy's private residence on the Grand Canal and has works from Jackson Pollock, Man Ray, Picasso and mobiles by Calder 

Calder Mobile in the main foyer

FLORENCE - Pitti Palace / Boboli and Bardini Gardens / Florence Holiday Lights.

Via Tournaboni

I will write more on these subjects in the next blog, but please enjoy the photos.

Ciao from Italy

Bruce

Tree outside Duomo in Florence

View from Pitti Palace garden

Lemoncello, Marathon, Cathedrals and Michelangelo

It has been a few days since the last post and I have been settling quite well into the city since than.
Really beginning to feel like a local, well as far as really bad Italian can do that.  The shopkeepers are recognising me now, as well as the resident street vendors.  May be hope for assimilation within the next year or so.
Ava and I have just really started hitting the museums and tourist attractions.  For being this late in the year Florence is still really busy with tourists.  We were in a trattoria last week and this party of 21 Americans came in.  They were all here to celebrate the matriarch's 80th birthday.  And then there are the regular tour groups which are shuttled around from site to site with barely a moment to relax.
As for the museums, we tried to get a Friends of the Uffizi pass; but that is finished for the season so it is individual tickets.  We are going to splurge and do the Corridor atop the Ponte Vecchio as it houses impressive art collected by the Midici's and is only open to a few people in organised groups.

The Academia.
Incredible place, it houses Michelangelo's original David statue as well as lots of his other work and paintings.  Unfortunately the 2nd floor that houses the tapestries was closed.

The Duomo.
Hugely impressive cathedral.  The paintings and frescos are beyond any description I can do justice with.

Piazzale Michelangelo.
The best place to catch a great view of Florence and the Arno river spread out below you.  The beautiful tiled roofs with the cathedrals and Duomo rising above them with the hills in the background are really quite something to see.

Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.
It took us quite a walk to find this elusive museum.  Just a round the corner from the Duomo, as is everything really.  When we finally did find it we paid our 7 euro each and wandered through two rooms looking at what I thought were really bad scale models of some of his inventions.  Yesterday when we were looking for a place to eat we came across the real Da Vinci Museum.  Oh well!

Sunday the 29th was the Firenze Marathon.  It was a beautiful day for the runners and as well for the residents/tourist as the streets in the city centre were closed to traffic which meant one can walk pretty well unscathed, except for cyclist and taxis.

Places to eat.
I try to stay away from the eateries around major piazzas because they tend to be very pricey.  For what a coffee costs in one of those places I can get a really good sandwich and cappuccino at my favourite place called Bar 16 on Proconsolo.  I had the best pasta carbonera yesterday at Osteria del Proconsolo, it is a small place with great english speaking staff and very good prices about 2 blocks form the Duomo.  Other than that any pasticceria has the best coffees (1 euro for espresso) as well as sandwiches and cakes.
I eat at home quite a bit in the evenings as individually the prices are not too bad but everything adds up and it is not unusual to come out with a bill of about 40euro.  With exchange rate of 1.5 it can hit the wallet.
Groceries are very reasonable here, the produce is great as I have said before.  BUT...a few things I miss that I cannot get here.  Those are, ziploc bags, instant oatmeal, soda water (for the scotch) and twist ties.  So if you come over make sure you have those in your luggage.

Next stop for me is Venice (Venezia) Dec.9-11.  Taking the express train out next Wednesday and the last train to Florence on the Friday.   Only a 2 hour ride from Firenze to Venezia, so just like a Vancouver commute to work.
I have booked our transportation to Split Croatia for the 15th January.  Train from Firenze to Ancona via Bologna.  That only cost 38euro and then it is an overnight ferry across the Adriatic to Split.  Secured a 2 bed cabin on the Jardorlinija ferry.

As the internet connection here has been up and down until today, Ava and I have been passing our time playing cards and having the occasional beverage.  I do have to warn you to Beware the Lemoncello.  It is the best tasting stuff ever, and has a 30% alcohol content that comes and smacks you upside the head when you least expect it.

I was asked if I had been on any wine tours, only the ones in the aisles of the supermarkets.