No Surprises

September 22, 2023

Sep. 20. No Surprises!

Another travel day. We’re sorry to be leaving the beautiful Cinque Terre region, but excited to see our next destination, Florence.

One of our hosts graciously provided us shuttle transportation to the train station. Neither of us knew we could hold our breath that long. His speed did not necessarily match the road conditions. Nonetheless, it was another experience survived and we were soon on the train, on time, and without a need to arm wrestle other passengers for luggage storage space.

The train delivered us to Pisa, and we could just barely get a view of the famous tower over the treetops. We’ll see that more closely later in the holiday. Our connecting train to Florence collected us right on time and we had a peaceful ride that was not crowded at all. It all seemed a bit suspicious that things were going so smoothly.

Once in the Florence train station, we were a bit challenged to find the taxi stand, but eventually succeeded and then got to experience what it’s like to be the hammer rather than the nail in a Florence version of “Frogger”. Our driver raced up and down a lot of narrow alleys that I believe the locals think are streets, and delivered us to our VRBO apartment that will be home for four nights. Our hostess answered the bell on the first ring, and ten minutes later we were checked in and ready to begin the next leg of our trip.

The property we’re staying in is in a building that was once a 16th century palace, so we are told. It’s a pretty eclectic place, but very comfortable. Also, it has laundry so we can deal with the clothes we were climbing mountains in.

The place we’re staying is very convenient to a great number of the sites we want to visit in Florence. We had arrived with lots of time left in the day, so we headed off to explore, and to pick up tickets for some museums to be visited. We soon found the Ponte Vecchio, a famous and ancient bridge across the Arno river that is lined on both sides with high end jewelry stores. Crossing the river provided us a route to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the best views of the city can be found. Naturally, this meant more climbing, but it was well worth it.

The skyline of Florence is breathtaking, and it is remarkable how impossible all of their massive structures are to see when walking down the narrow streets. Our bird’s eye view gave us a good start understanding the lie of the land.

Once back from our lofty perch across the river, we spent some time in a piazza filled with statues of various Roman gods and goddesses and a replica of the famous “David”. You’d think, after over 800 years somebody would have found the guy a pair of pants. Not that the rest of the gods are dressed any differently. At least he’s not lopping off anybody’s head!

The Arno River in Florence

The Ponte Vecchio (bridge lined with jewelry stores)

Perfect calm waters for rowing (Scull training)

The view of Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo

Overcast skies but a beautiful warm day and perfect for climbing! Chris may never forgive me...

Fountains grace every nook and cranny in Florence

You are allowed to park facing any direction you want in Florence so we aren't sure why the police

are writing tickets. I love the police helmets! There are a lot of motorcycles/scooters/bikes in Florence and no end to the near-misses we have witnessed!