Day 1: Florence, Italy; Some Rain, a little Sun 20°

Florence, Home Of The Renaissance!

I am sitting here in Florence, trying to figure out where a day went. I flew out of Victoria on Sunday afternoon and today is Tuesday, but I’ve only had one night in a bed.🤔 Of course, I remind myself, the first night was spent sleeping on a plane, well sort of.

Preparing to take off from Vancouver they made an announcement that there were seats with more legroom available at the front of the plane. My neighbour Tim from Portland, Oregon and I were having a nice chat when we were told that the seats were rented for $140. My new friend Tim being a rather large man said that he was tempted to move where there was more space, but that he was nicely settled in to his seat and $140 seemed a bit too much. I reminded him that with the exchange difference the seat would only cost him about US $100. Several passengers around us were discussing the seats when he suddenly decided that he was going to try to obtain one of the spacious seats. I suggested that he should head forward immediately in order to secure said seat. Tim did just that, and returned to tell me that he had been successful! Of course had my own agenda because I knew that if he moved forward then I would have two seats all to myself for the nine hour redeye to Zürich. Tim would’ve actually been a great guy to talk with, but the opportunity to scratch out a little sleep was just too good to pass up. 😇

It took quite a while to get out of Vancouver. The flight was initially delayed an hour, and then, just before takeoff we had to return to the airport because a passenger had become quite ill. There was a lengthy delay as they remove the passenger, and then of course they had to find and remove his luggage from the hold. By the time we were airborne I think we were about an hour and a half behind schedule. No fear, I had a 4 1/2 hour wait in Zürich to look forward to. Now that wait would be shorter and I would catch a quick meal and a little snooze in one of the nice airport lounges. That perk comes via one of my credit cards. Thanks for the idea Rob! We eventually took off from Zürich on time.
It was raining hard in Zürich, and frankly, I don’t remember the first 2/3 of the flight because I immediately fell asleep. I woke to bluer skies and great views of Italy!
Those mountains in the distance to the north are the Apennine Mountains that Costanza and I crossed together last September. That means that Lucca lies somewhere in the distance.
It all went quite smoothly as I quickly transited from the airport, found my little second-floor hotel and went out to find a simple, but filling meal in a small bistro. 

I must admit that it felt wonderful to be back in Italy. My limited Italian vocabulary came quickly back, and I found that as before people were quite receptive to my efforts. Everyone speaks English in Florence because most of the tourists speak English. Feeling quite jet lagged I went for a walk to have a look around. 

I woke this morning to the sound of rain. This was expected, but I had lots to do today, so I was up for breakfast after a well-deserved shower. With all that’s been going on at home these past months, I forgot to pack an electrical adapter, suitable for Europe. So after recharging my cellular plan (70G €20) I went back to the train station where I found a little shop that sold international adapters. Phew! I was pretty tired when I discovered this oversight last night, and jet lagged the problem appeared to be much larger than it actually was. Ain’t that always the case?

A working phone in hand and a newly purchased umbrella I set off on a walk to see the sights. I hadn’t been here since 2005 with our daughter Caitlin and before that 1981 with Annemarie. Last time I was here with a then 17 year old Caitlin (now a mother of 2), I spent most of my visit in a Renaissance hospital passing a kidney stone! Ouch!! But pass it did, though I didn’t have much time left to wander the streets of Florence. Having seen the majority of the special attractions here in 1981 I decided to mostly just walk today. Besides, the lines, correction, the very long lines were not at all attractive. The tourists have returned with a vengeance this year. 

The rain soon stopped falling, and stayed that way the rest of the morning.

I find there’s something quite magical about the Ponte Vecchio. It’s full of high-end gold and jewellery stores, but the bridge itself is a pleasure to view and experience. 

The experience brought back a flood of good memories which the presence of numerous large tour groups couldn’t dampen. There’s something I find kind of interesting about being a solo spectator as one wanders through all the happenings. Not being distracted I hear and observe more as I pass by. I pick up bits and pieces of conversations and I see small details in the architecture that I might otherwise miss.
Having more sites to see in business to attend to, I wandered along the Arno river in search of the Piazza di Saint Croce where are there is a church of the same name where I would obtain my first stamp in my credential. Always an exciting moment!

And there it is!
The church itself is quite striking inside, and contains the burial sites of many historically important people, including Michelangelo and Galileo. This is Galileo’s tomb.

And this is where Michelangelo’s been laid to rest
I really took my time walking through this church. There’s just so much to see, and so many interesting historical pieces.
I arrived here early, just after it opened. The many tour groups still gathered outside in the Piazza to be briefed on what this special church holds. As they began entering, I was able to stay more or less one step ahead as I’ve visited the Medici Chapel and wondered at the many beautiful works of art on the walls. As our daughter Erin the art historian always reminds me, in Italy, everywhere, and almost everything is a work of art! Here are just a few;

I continued on to the Piazza della Republica where I satisfied myself by looking at all the statues in the Square.

Yup, a teacher in the US was recently fired for allowing his students to see David. How totally misguided and ignorant is that?


I moved on. For Saiorse, Avery and Caira. I sent them a video! 

This is the Medici’s residence. 
Inside. I didn’t want to spend the exorbitant fee to see the actual home, so it must’ve been very interesting. Had AM been here I’m sure we would have gone through. 
I have noticed the Medici seal on many doors in Florence
Add this point I was starting to get a little sleepy from the jet lag. So I stopped to find a sandwich and Coke in a little café before heading back to my room. This blog just about finished, I need to get all my gear organized to start walking tomorrow. Today definitely felt like a little holiday, but tomorrow the main event gets started! Hopefully the rain holds off and I can enjoy a pleasant walk along the Arno River. Stay tuned!