Italy: Florence and Friends

Florence

First, of course, is a view of the Duomo. There was a long line to get inside, so we skipped that (all had been there before) and went directly to the Works of the Duomo Museum, located behind the Cathedral. The museum is a wonder, and has been considerably spiffed up since I was last there in 1997. Next is a view of the Loggia, which is now not only completely finished with its "restauro" and back the way it was intended to be, but if you visit at night when there's no one there it is a magical experience. I finally got to see Cellini's Perseus (it had previously been boxed-up, being restored) up close and personal. Finally, a rather funny view of the Duomo and the Campanile from my window in the Pensione Alessandra, which is located next to the Piazza del Limbo, not far from Ponte Vecchio. No doubt the forest of TV aerials will be coming down eventually. Lots of rooftops already sport terra cotta colored small satellite dishes.

Friends

Ken accomplishes one his most desired activities in Italy: the drinking of espresso. Bruce has found something to do at the villa in the evening, namely read a book. He also had a laptop and a collection of DVDs to watch. We all read, and Ken and I both worked on on our respective travel journals. There was a TV in the villa, if you knew what you were doing and aggressively moved the rabbit ears around you could get a couple of Italian channels. None of us were that interested, so the TV was stuck out of the way in a corner. Of course, the major activity was Seeing Things during the day trips we took. Ed is resting and contemplating under a tree in the park of the charming hill town of Montone.

NEXT: Hill Towns