Day 5: Arrivederci, Roma. Ciao, Firenze!

Sad to say goodbye to Rome this morning. We managed to get all packed up and actually left the hotel early. Took a cab to Roma Termini Stazione and then tried to figure out what we were doing amid the giant mass of people. We don’t have much experience in rail travel (that’s about to change); just riding the Eurostar from London to Paris. We found our train on the departure board easily enough, but learned that they don’t post the track until about 15-20 minutes before leaving. I bought these tickets months ago and was surprised to find that Marsha and Madison were on one row across from each other, but I was in the row behind them. Next trip I'll pay more attention to seating. It’s a learning experience.

The train ride to Florence (Firenze in Italian) was awesome. Perfectly smooth and fast. We cruised at 200 kmh for a bit, then got up to 250 (155 mph). The Italian countryside was just beautiful. I was fascinated by all farmland (again, more hay in giant rolls). But most especially all the old towns perched on hilltops. Some of which looked like fortresses.

The one thing that didn’t quite work out was eating. Originally, I’d planned to get something around the train station, but we didn’t have enough time. We could’ve gotten something on the train, but didn’t really figure that out until we were almost to Florence.

Fortunately, the ride was only 90 minutes, so it was only 1:15 when we arrived. Even better was that our hotel (Sina Villa Medici) was only three blocks away. And in case you’re wondering, it’s still ridiculously hot.

We got checked in just fine and, of course, or room wasn’t yet ready. So we checked our bags and hit the streets. We had just over an hour before our timed entry (and skipping the line) to the Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David. So we stopped by the food court in the Mercato Centrale and grabbed a panino (in Italian, panini is plural). The food and selections were great, but they could really use some AC.

Suffice it to say, it was “unpleasantly warm” in the Accademia. They even gave out paper fans. Some rooms had AC and were, thankfully, a little cooler. Otherwise, seeing Michelangelo’s David was impressive. That is one huge statue. And it’s the centerpiece of the museum.

There were also many rooms with triptychs. There was another room that was full of statues, but it was roped off for some reason. Fortunately, we were still able to get a glimpse.

The final room we visited (for which we had to backtrack all the way to the entrance) contained musical instruments from a once larger private collection. It even contained two Stradivarius violins, which was pretty impressive.

Afterwards, we popped by a nearby bookstore where I was very excited to pick up the last two Mortina books (Ghoulia in the US), the final of which was just released. I’ve been reading them as part of my Italian studies and was happy to conduct my purchase mostly in Italian.

We also stopped at a little shop for drinks, where I spotted some Coke cans with another of my favorite pop stars, Annalisa. I’ve learned quite a few words listening to her songs.

Then we went back to the hotel to relax and cool down. We decided to check out the TV and found a channel that shows movies in English with Italian subtitles. We got hooked on Gambit (1966), starring a very young Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine.

For dinner we went to La Spada, which was great and had excellent service. And it was nearly our first meal where we didn’t have pasta or pizza (though Marsha did have lasagna). I was able to order the whole meal in Italian, with much encouragement from our waiter. He even chastised me later (and deservedly so) when I asked him something in English.

Afterwards, we walked down to the river (one of Marsh’s favorite pastimes) to stroll into the city. This is when I started to succumb to Florence’s charms. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio, which is famous for having shops on the bridge. Sadly, all of the shops were closed, but we’re heading back that way tomorrow.

Next we moved on to Piazza della Signoria, which completely won me over. This was much more grand, with columned buildings and a large assortment of statues. The originals of which we’d just seen earlier in the Accademia! Chief of which wasMichelangelo’s David, which used to stand outside, but was moved indoors years ago to prevent wear and tear.



From there we moved on to the Duomo, which we’re also seeing tomorrow. Naturally, it was closed at that hour, but there were no crowds and it was an excellent opportunity to see it up close beforehand. First of all, it’s much larger than any of us expected. I mean really huge. Then after you take in the enormity of it, you start to notice the level of detail, which is just incredible.

Our final stop for the night was a gelato shop onthe way back to the hotel. Once again, perfect way to end the evening. The weather report for tomorrow says 40% chance ofrain in the afternoon. Here’s hoping!