Wandering amongst Pisa’s famed sights, I found myself eased culturally
\n back into Italy and following the big, rounded taste of the evenings Rosso
\n Di Montepulciano I felt readied (or should be that steadied?) for the
\n imminent return. The year that had passed seemed all too long to be away
\n from such a good friend as Firenze…<\/p>\n
No alarm call was needed to wake me from the darkened Sunday slumber
\n of Pensione Rinascente – the bright, cool morning had already been
\n disturbed by medieval equivalents! Whilst masses filed through splendid
\n church facades, my own calling came from Pisa Centrale and as I found
\n myself being drawn across the Arno a thought occurred – would the famed
\n Italian trains be on time? My answer was forthcoming as the 9.18 was only
\n a couple of minutes late and was already busy transporting people going
\n about their Sunday lives. Moving away from the platform a certain sensation
\n I had felt when travelling on warm, early morning trains across India
\n flitted through my consciousness once again – a good omen for the
\n journey I smiled!<\/p>\n
Stops such as Pontedera disappeared behind the train as a hazy sun opened
\n up a landscape of smallholdings, allotments and vine trails. Surrounded
\n by the languid Italian chatter of our fellow passengers, I felt suitably
\n drawn away from everything of the previous working week – a fleeting
\n travel moment to be cherished. Further along the journey, the archetypal
\n Italian station of Empoli and the ever changing faces of fellow passengers
\n also reminded me of previous travels – this time of Inter-rail journeys.
\n Playing that old game of guessing people’s destinations, I wondered
\n whether the young Scandinavians were heading south or and whether the
\n Africans were heading business like to northern destinations. Our route
\n to Firenze narrowed through a rising valley as it progressed and as in
\n many photos and films, I glimpsed some of the traditional Tuscan imagery
\n – hill top villages connected by winding roads that twisted through lush
\n green countryside and trees stretching skywards. Almost as the quickly
\n as the track had risen did we descend down through the last few suburban
\n stops and onto the final destination…Firenze!<\/p>\n
I hadn’t thought what I’d wanted to see of my old friend
\n again, but first thoughts were drawn along a slow loop through the heart
\n of the city, across the Arno and up to the panorama of Piazzale Michelangelo.
\n Familiar sites greeted me as Kate and I sped across the expanse of the
\n rather unvisited Piazza Dell’ Unita Italia– the still petitioning
\n HIV charity, the market where I purchased a most expensive wallet and
\n then onto a renewing glimpse of the Duomo’s bell tower and Battistero.
\n What struck me this time about the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria
\n del Fiore (to give the Duomo its consecrated name) was not the beautiful
\n façade but how the turret like bastions sat atop, allowing all comers
\n to be seen. Being a Sunday we couldn’t undertake the winding climb
\n to dome’s top (thankfully appreciated by my apprehension of heights)
\n and the slower start to the day allowed us more space and time to enjoy
\n the walk across Piazza del Duomo and onwards.<\/p>\n
For those that cherish Firenze, Via De’ Calzaiuoli’s opening
\n up on to<\/p>\n
Piazza della Signora grandly displays much of what should be seen –
\n the splendid Palazzo Vecchio with its dominating tower, the near perfectly
\n copied statues of David or the beheading of Medusa by Perseus and the
\n Uffizi’s columned walk ways sheltering its snaking queues! Though
\n much of this grandeur owes its origins to the power of the Medici and
\n their egos, its subsequent evolution into a marvel of civic planning underscores
\n what the renaissance is depicted as representing. Even the mounted police
\n seemed proud to be part of this elegant cityscape. We had little desire
\n to enjoy the Uffizi’s always crowded galleries and somewhat cramped
\n displays and instead Kate diverted us off to the quiet of Santa Croce.
\n Previously I had strolled around this intriguing church with its incomplete
\n facade and had found that many of two hundred plus monuments commemorated
\n famous past lives – Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante I believe are
\n of the many. The adjoining convent turned museum and its cloisters echo
\n this silence and is a relatively unknown yet worthy destination for its
\n visitors.<\/p>\n
As the climb upwards began, I noticed another of those travelling oddities
\n that catch my imagination – certain cities feature a building or
\n place that my wandering always seems to take me through or past! In London
\n it is the Embankment underground station, with Dublin it is O’Connell
\n Bridge and with Firenze it is the Biblioteca Nazionale! Whatever view
\n or late night revelry I have been party to, these buildings always seem
\n found themselves within view and I have no idea why! As we swiftly crossed
\n the modern Ponte Santa Niccolo we again had to pass this squared jawed
\n building before moving over to the quieter side of the Arno.<\/p>\n
The steep route up through the steps and gardens of Guiseppe Poggi lifts
\n the walker onto a supreme vantage point! This perspective offers an unbeatable
\n right to left panorama – the view sweeps back across the trail I’ve
\n just described, over the Arno hunched Ponte Vecchio and through to the
\n old Forte Di Belvedere. From here I could imagine no better way to present
\n the city to visitors. Like many I sat awhile, allowing the warm breezes
\n to brush across my face and savour my return to this wonderful city. Somewhat
\n later our thirsts were indulgently quenched before moving on by visiting
\n one of the hilltop gelateria and selecting a double-portioned cone. Here
\n less cream and more ice is definitely better, with my favourite being
\n strawberry overlain with pistachio! Whether any sports dietician would
\n approve of such recharging remains to be seen but we were certainly ready
\n to move on…<\/p>\n