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Other entries in Florence

Florence, what beauty!

I find it strange that I knew so little about Florence before arriving, when the rest of the company were so excited to be coming!! Even though I studied art for many years, I never looked closely at Italian art, so it was amazing how many paintings and sculptures that I knew of, were here!...of course there are hundreds of things to see, The Uffuzi Gallery itself rivals the Louve in size and sheer number of exhibits to see. Most of the crowds were queuing up to see Michelangelo’s ‘David’, but when there’s an excellent replica of him placed in one of the city’s piazzas, it all seems like a bit too much effort!

My favourite pastime now has to be wandering the side streets and riverside of the city, of any city in fact. When you’ve spent so much time in foreign cities like I have, you lose the need to be a tourist, and crave to blend in like the locals, going to your favourite haunts, relaxing in a cafe and taking in the sights at a leisurely pace. Of course the fact that I nearly always have my big camera with me, rather annoyingly points me out as a tourist, if only they’d see me for the photography student/beginner that I am, maybe I’d be left alone! And it’s not that I always get hassled, but after the wallet incident in Bratislava, you get the feeling of being eyed up all the time...what can we sell her, can we get her to part with her money, what else expensive is in her bag...I’m very tempted to go back to my canvas ‘Mao’ satchel from China, anyone would be mad to keep an expensive camera in that! ;-)

In our very limited time here...7 days with no day off from work...I managed to see the beautiful Ponte Vechio at sunset, climb the Campanile (bell tower) for a birds eye view of the Duomo and its magnificent roof/dome and resist the temptation to buy ‘statue of David’ boxer shorts, which depict his relevant (marble) anatomy!! There are stunning buildings around every corner and the thing I love most, esp from the tower, are the matching roofs! The city is awash with terracotta roof tiles, giving you the sense that the city was designed as a whole, and ever since subsequent structures have kept in with the, oh so typical, Italian style! A thing of desire in the city, however, does seem to be a roof terrace, balcony, or square inch of flat roof that you escape to! Getting away from the city heat must be bliss, esp as it is only May and already 25degrees!

I made peace with the fact I wouldn’t have time to fit in even a fifth of the Florence ‘must do’s’, and instead spent a lovely evening enjoying the Aperitivi! This is an Italian invention, originally due to very high alcohol prices, but between 5 and 8pm, whenever you buy a drink in a bar, you’re welcome to help yourself to the selection of food available as a mini buffet on the bar! Crostinis are the norm, with all the favourite toppings from good Italian prosciutto and parmesan to cheese & tomato, fish, cheese and olive tapenade. A bargain if you only have one glass of wine...but there are so many places that just specialise in this, they do it well! They sell solely wine, oil, balsamic, tapenades, quite often with a cold meat and cheese counter, so pretty much an upmarket deli where you can try before you buy! It did mean the little place I found had some excellent wines, so much so I bought a bottle for later in the week...I could really enjoy life here!...

...and then my computer crashed! Well Vista crashed, and obviously there isn’t much left when your operating system fails! So one of the reasons my journal entries have taken a while to update, is the devastating inability to communicate with the outside world...particularly people at home!...I’ve never before realised what I life saver skype to a hotel phone can be! 

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