Florence

Ok! So I was in Florence, and quite tired, so I hauled my things into the hostel, took a hot shower, that I was surprised about. Looked like an only cold water kind of place. Then I read my Rick Streves to find out what I could get done in two days. I ate some of my supermarket supper, met my 5 Spanish roomates, and went to bed. I was sleeping next to a window. And what you have to consider is that windows that actually close are generally conserved for prisons, here. Even in the house, all of the windows have drafts, but it's just not often cold enough to be a problem. I did wake up a bit more stuffed than before, though.

What I do love about getting into old hostels, is that no matter how old and unmanaged they are, they have great character. The ceiling, for example:

I took off in the morning with a plan to see much of downtown, and then to head across the river the next day before taking a train to Urbino.

The Nativity Scene at Santa Maria Novella

The Duomo and the Baptistery

Included in my downtown trip was L'Accadamia, which is where David is. This was on my walk there:

Galileo is huge here. This is or was a junior/senior high school. Note the posters all over the wall.

 This just freaked me out.

There were two exhibits on display when I went. One was on antique instruments used is Florence, and another was a modern photoprapher who had done a study on geometric shapes of the human body and other natural things.

 The only picture that I snuck in the museum! I loved the look of this instrument. And I really loved this exhibit.

So, the museum was amazing. David, who I had thought was actually small and, well, just a statue of a guy turned out to be completely awesome. After walking into the hall, you see him at the very end. The museum was built just to house him, and there is a great dome in the ceiling above him that lets in natural light. He's fricken huge. And the detail is amazing. Once I read about the history, I was even more impressed. I was very surprised that I was able to sit there for quite a long time and just take in the whole atmosphere.

Then I checked out the photography, which was interesting, but the photos were all meant to have no movement. Which I found boring. There. I said it.

Also, there was a room LOADED with the first drafts of sculptures. I forget what they are actually called, but they are moldings that the artists make before they are given marble to actually carve. It was neat to see what was given marble and what wasn't and who paid for the real thing and why.

Then there was a room of what I think I remember correctly as art from a Russion Orthodox church. No, not a room. 4 rooms. Interesting, because after the first two, you conveniently have to walk through the gift shop in order to see the rest of it. Sly guys.

After the museum, I headed to the Piazza della Signoria which is loaded with sculptures. This is why Florence is so remarkable. Any other town would be lucky to have one or two of these wonderful pieces, but just in one square, Florence has about 20. It seems like such an overload at first.

A view of the square with folk, a man on a horse, and a statue of a man on a horse.

The horseman from another angle.

And another. (I wouldn't want to miss anything, you see.)

Palazza Vecchio (Old Palace) and the sunshine! (It was a brisk day.)

The fountain and it's glory

 

I just loved this little guy

This wonderful lady was about to take off the head of some man. I don't know who made this or what it is about, but I like it.

The reproduction of David. This is originally where the orginal one stood, but for fear of destruction, the build L'Accadamia. They made this one to stand in his place.

Little tree boys on either side of the door to the Palazzo Vecchio

This platform was loaded with statues and I'd be damned if I could find an explanation for any of them.

Oh, except that this is Perseus killing Medusa.

 From the other side you can see her a lot better. Her dead, headless body.

People clamouring all over each other, reaching for something... Probably symbolic, but I like to think there is a jar of peanut butter dangling above them, and the first person to grab it gets it all.

And this is pretty epic. I love how much emotion can come through these sculptures. When you see them it's almost like they're moving.

A tiny little Perseus as a part of the base of the bigger statue.

Platform from the Piazza

Piazza form the platform.

Palazzo Vecchio

Check out the tiny flags all across the top. And what time it is! Wait. Does that say five after seven? No no. I was there at like... 2. What's up with that?

Then I headed to the market! There is a wonderful market here selling lots of leather and other things that I wanted to walk through. I saw a lot of things that I liked and the whole place smelled like leather. Everything was stamped as Genuine Italian Leather. It was neat!

The Market

Also home to the boar! Rub his nose to ensure you'll get back! Check out how shiny that sucker is. I, as a note, did not rub the nose. Don't ask me why. I just took a picture and left. I feel oddly strange about not doing it.

I took this picture to remind me the name of the Church that I went into. Orsan Michele!

There it is. It was much less busy than the others and also free. These two things don't usually go together.

A woman asking for change as she blessed youe heart and the guard on duty having a smoke.

This guy being off pose, I was able to sneak a photo. The whole church is a brown, drab, unlit place, but then you have the wonderful windows of vibrant, amazing colours that use the sun as a tool to make them stun your brains out.

On my way back to the hostel, I noticed the Martini sign. Yes, I do want a drink. Thanks for reminding me.

So, I headed to The Joshua Tree Pub and had a very dark pint of beer. Delicious. The bartender was Irish and the bar had the same kind of theme. They had promised live DJs everynight, but that acually meant that this guy was picking a new song every 4 minutes and getting back to drinking. I wrote a lot, actually. I was still feeling groggy and gross, especially after being outside all day, so I decided against socializing for the time being. It was nice to sit among people, and get some words on paper. For some reason my notebook thie month has filled absurdly fast. As in, in my first three months, I filled three notebooks. This one is almost done and we're only half way through January. Anyways, a lot of it came from that night.

I went back to the hostel later and, lo and behold, my things where gone. Say what? You see, I had been a little worried, since there was no lock up at this hostel, just my things hiding behind my bed. I was just preparing my heart for the pressure of it's lifetime, when I noticed there was also a note saying I had been moved to another room. Holy man. Did you just sigh a big sigh of relief? It was nothing compared to what I sighed. I moved on over, where I met a brother and sister, also from Spain, except this time he spoke a tad of English. We ate together on our hostel beds, and chatted about Florence and how their trip was going. It was the first trip they had taken together. Hilarious. Would I travel through Europe with my brother? This is a question for another day.

View from my hostel window

Looking the other way. They still had these great lights that I saw all over each of the cities I visited. They look so magical!

I had a non adverbial sleep in my new bed, and got up and ready for the next day. I had had big plans, since more things were open, and wanted to head across the river, via Ponte Vecchio, and see the Science Museum, Piazzale Michelangelo, and the Brancacci Chapel and then whatever else I had time for.

Generally speaking this is not what happened.

Real time Update: Karaoke was a general hit. I headed out alone, since Giorgia and Lucia have tests to study for. I ordered a beer and sat, studying the place. They did things a little differently. The place ended up completely full, and they all seemed to be regulars. It was so full, in fact, that three people asked if they could sit with me, since there were no more tables. But of course! Two of them were students, and one was working in Urbino. They were hilarious, too. They kept making jokes, but I didn't always get them. By the end of the night I had picked up on a few more.

I put a song up and forced them to stay until I sang. However, in order to do that, you have to sort of wave the guy down and say, "Saro dopo!" (I will be next). The whole crowd there is a lot of fun, and the always clap for each other during the song, and they all sing along. It was great to watch, considering they sang almost all in Italian with the exception of maybe two songs. Including mine. But they all knew the songs by heart, and you could tell a lot of them are there to let off a lot of steam, so they really belt it out. Reminded me a lot of Hooliganz! The people were friendly, the bar was comfy, and the karaoke went all night. I met some people and they assured me they were there everyweek! So, in place of my weekly cinema and italian classes that don't start until February, I have weekly karaoke!

Tonight, I am heading to a concert that I saw a poster for at Caffe de Sole, and then for drinks at Canyon with Val and Andy.

Speaking of which, dinner was great! I made Chicken with peppers, tomatoes, brocolli, and a homemade sauce. I also made potatoe salad, because I love it so much. I even bought Kraft Mayo, which isn't Miracle Whip, just mayo. But it was good anyways. Then, to top it all off, I made cheescake. And I have to admit that it was pretty amazing. A long time ago Valentina had asked me if I knew how to make it, so I tried it out. I made it with a bit of the mayple syrup from Mom. Put the recipe in my new recipe book and can't wait to experiment with it.

Anyways, Nando was there, a friend of theirs I've met a few times now, and he also made pasta with meatballs. Also, and this is awesome, he brough frescissimo (very fresh) bufalo mozzerella. (Yes Mom, I asked, it comes from buffalo) He told me it has been in the stomach of the buffalo just the morning before. He grew up in the south, and he was been visiting his parents who farm, and he just drove up that day with the cheese. I've had this cheese before, from the supermarket, but this was... I don't know what to say. It is just the best damn cheese a person can eat. 1 day old cheese. I savoured it, don't you worry.

Thanks for the comments! I love hearing from you. Let me know how your New Year has kicked off.

Ciao for now!

Carrie