Ciao Florence!

Ciao Florence ~ ti vogliamo bene

The last three days have been a such whirlwind! We are tired but anticipating the second half of our vacation spent to be spent in Rome and on the Amalfi Coast.

Day 6 and we were off to Pisa and Lucca. Since the initial planning of this trip we have eagerly anticipated Pisa and especially Lucca. It was about an hour train ride from Florence and it was quite lovely countryside. So many of the farms and homes that dotted the train tracks had kitchen gardens and bright, colorful flowers. Especially

geraniums...they grew everywhere. The trip itself was uneventful and only broken up by the arrival onboard of a beautiful African family. They were on their way to Pisa as well....their clothing was brilliantly colored and their jewelry simple but very elegant. But the most noticeable thing about this family was how joyful they all were. And though we couldn't understand most of what they were saying, whatever they said was marked with laughter to the point of tears which became infectious. We smiled and chuckled and we didn't even know why. The grandmother spoke Spanish and some English so we were able to speak to her. She very proudly introduced us to her daughter, daughter-in-law, son, son-in-law and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter was the most beautiful child ever and so happy! We didn't exchange names but we felt like we made friends all the same. Before we knew it we were in Pisa.

Let me say that at one time Pisa was probably one of the most

beautiful cities in Europe. The old buildings are very pretty and I'm sure most are several hundred years old. BUT the city is not well-kept. I was surprised by that. As with Florence, there are millions of visitors every year. I'm not sure if the sheer number of visitors strain the small city or if the money generated by the tower, baptistery and cathedral are use for some other purpose but poor Pisa needs a makeover.

It did not help that temperatures were well in to the 90's and the lines long. Though we did have tickets to climb the tower, waiting in the hot sun (there is NO SHADE AT ALL) with rivulets of sweat pouring down my back and face and getting a little grouchy we opted out. We headed for the cathedral instead which was absolutely gorgeous and nice and cool inside. After taking many photos we decided to head to Lucca a little early. I did make a gelato stop and while it was tasty

(there is no such thing as bad ice cream) it wasn't outstanding....I ate it all, though, every bite!

On to Lucca. Our initial plans included riding bikes on the path above the walled city. And as we have had to do with several of our plans, we modified. It was 1:00 pm and 95 degrees....we did not ride bikes on the wall. What we did do is find a nice restaurant that had outdoor dining under a huge magnolia tree. We had water, wine, a lovely lunch and then walked the city a little. And due to the heat we left early from there as well....back to Florence.

We arrived in Florence and decided to go to the church we've meaning to see since day one. The Santa Maria Novella. It was very pretty but we headed home a little early cause Leah is sick!

Day 7 - today was to be Cinque Terre day but it did not happen. With temperatures well above 90 and Leah still sick we had to pass. We spent the morning relaxing with cappuccino and packing because we go to Rome tomorrow. Toward late afternoon hunger forced us to go in to Florence for a late lunch/early dinner. Only there was a train strike! Okay, we punt and take the bus. The big disadvantage (and also great ADVANTAGE) to not planning and not knowing the language is you get lost. And get lost we did. Actually we missed our stop but we were convinced we could find another a long the way at a place that looked familiar. Only NONE of it looked familiar! We were in a much different part of Florence....far different from what we had heretofore seen. It was lovely. It was the nicest part of Florence we had seen since our visit began. (We are staying in a very blue collar, working class neighborhood) The only problem with our detour is that the bus driver basically kicked us off the bus at the end of the line...and we didn't know where in the hell we were ! So I break out the iPhone and search the train schedule (in Italian) and discovered another bus would be along shortly....but it was freaking hot!!! Twenty minutes later we're back on a bus taking us to where we started!!! We did not miss our stop the second time.

We finally get to the center of Florence, the Florence we've learned pretty well by this time and go to a restaurant we really like. We were starving and soooo hot. We stayed there for probably two hours. When we finally left, walking through one of the piazzas, we saw a parade of sorts. Men dressed in medieval clothing (sigh....some of them were so damn gorgeous...but I digress), riding horses, marching, drums beating, trumpets blasting....festival time in Florence!! It was fantastic! Every year ALL of Florence celebrates the feast of San Giovanni, their patron saint. The final game of the Calcio in Costume (football soccer in costumes) is played on this day as well. It is a famous Florentine Medieval version of football (soccer) usually played in Santa Croce square. But it's really a free-for-all...no red cards here....it is violent and bloody and so damn popular! We wanted to get tickets for the game but found out it was sold out the week before our arrival within 8 minutes of putting them on sale!!! The procession through town is a medieval escort of all four teams in to the city. White, red, blue and green. The final match was between the white and the blue teams....the fervor is catching! After the game there are fireworks and a night time festival. Just amazing....and we got to see it because we got lost, because we were delayed, because we took a two-hour lunch....serendipity at its best!

Tomorrow the Eternal City