Firenze recap

While our time in Florence passed amazingly quickly, it was our longest travel pause yet. We spent three nights there and filled every single minute of our waking days with solid sightseeing.

There was something very pleasant for both of us about returning to a city with a high level of familiarity. I had a lay of the land, and clear views of what I wanted to re-visit (the Uffizi) and what I could skip (The Accademia - seeing David is really a one off - he looses his shock value after that first realisation of how big he really is). I really only regret not seeing two things. One was the Laurentian Library in San Lorenzo (designed brilliantly by Michelangelo) the other, a water rat in the Arno.

It has always been my great wish to see a Florentine water rat. Like all things hideous and grotesque you both want to see it, and hope that you won't in equal measures. The Florentine water rat could be described as: a rat grown to be about the size of a large muskrat, which patrols the banks of the Arno terrifying and delighting tourists whenever it chooses to pop its head out of the water. Nina, with her keen animal spotting eyes, did actually see one. All I saw was the pool of ripples it left behind. I still haven't forgiven her.

The first day we trekked from the Piazza Michelangelo to the city center, and spent the whole day in the heart of the city managing to tour the Duomo, the Baptistry, Or San Michele, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo and its surrounding market, as well as the Piazza della Signoria. In the most latter we were actually filmed as part of a pilot for a new American travel show hosted by a very charming, if not quirky, woman named (get ready for it Leia) Barbarella. We'll let you know if we make the cut for the final airing.

Our second full day we arose at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am in order to line up for the Uffizi at 7:30 am. We had a fantastic time there, me in particular, as I lovingly admired one of my favourite Caravaggio paintings of a young Bacchus. From there we hightailed it to the train station to meet up with Charles I (my friend from McGill) and his girlfriend Doris. They have both just completed Masters programs in food sciences (Charles correct me with the more accurate title!), and, as such, are experts in Italian food. Nina and I were led to an authentic Tuscan restaurant behind the market, and later an above average gelatteria.

Totally filled with some of Florence's best eats we then headed off to a very famous perfumerie/herbalist. It was established in the 17th century and has amazingly ornate wall and ceiling decorations. Its elegant beauty was, however, marred for me by an outrageously bad art show that was being exhibited throughout the store. It was entitled "Light - Paper - Imagination" so already I was prepared for it to be a winner. Basically I was looking at large sheaths of watercolour paper decorated with pictures of inoffensively nude women serenely minding their own business with a distinct air of self-importance. What made this different from any other amateur work one might see in a high school sketchbook was the addition of a light positioned behind the canvas, whose changing colours would illuminate hitherto unseen images on the canvas hidden to the naked eye. The artist's statement was as follows: "The paintings present two images contemporarilly: the visible image and the invisible image." Please search through the depths of that statement to find some semblance of artistic integrity.

To top off the day we ended our travels at my favourite church in the city: San Miniato al Monte, which, miraculously, was still open. The inside of the church is decorated with beautiful frescos, coloured marbles, and beautifully vibrant wooden beaming across the ceiling. However, the best decorative feature is its 13th century apse mosaic depicting (no shocker here) a large image of Christ offering his blessing. From its front doors, San Miniato offers the best view of Florence (known to me). High up above the busy bankers, and click clack of stiletto heeled power shoppers, Florence is still a medieval city, an artistic stronghold, and a marvel to be seen.