Firenze and Fiesole

Cosimo II ( the great) A Medici who contributed greatly to the Arts. . The pigeons are always on his head. Every guide book and every DVD travel guide show poor Cosimo with pigeons doing their thing on his head.

I tried a new format this time because it was easier to get the pictures in. All cars in Europe are smaller than America. When we went to visit the Michelangelo Gardens I saw this little beauty. It's a Mercedes. I'd fit nicely and have room for our golf clubs. Maybe ?

When we got to Florence and checked in at our apartment we went looking in the neighborhood. This is Dante at the Basilica Santa Croce. Croce was right down the street from us. We passed it everyday going here and there.
Our first real touristy thing was to go to the Doumo and light a couple of candles for the kids. At a Euro each they should bring blessings. The price has gone up since I was a kid. Below is the exterior of the Basilica. Built in the 1400's and taking 150 years to complete. It was impressive....and crowded.

This is Bobbe with a lion. Have you noticed she likes cats. When we were cruising around especially in the Uffizi Gallery we started to notice that a lot of statues looked like people we knew. So we named them. The one below is a friend who looks just like this guy. You know who you are!!!

This one is Tommy Houk, for those who know him. That's Tom before he cut the beard. We saw people from when we worked at McDonald's in college and from the last 40 years. Oh look...There's so and so. heheheheheh. We were bad.

The gardens of Michelangelo were just across the Arno and were a beautiful open space. they almost butted up to the Boboli Gardens. This is Bobbe being Bobbe. She made me do the same thing but since this is my blog I'm not putting that stupid picture in. And that's final!!!!!!!

The Duomo is in the background. Perfectly composed you know.
This is a picture of our landlady early one morning. It really wasn't that warm out but who am I to tell her. She had lots of friends and cousins around the city and a whole contingent of friends and family in Roma.

The school had a Saturday afternoon program where a different professor would take a field trip with students each week. We went and the trip took us to Fiesole. We rode two buses, you can only validate your ticket IF the bus is running turkey!!!! As I had mentioned Fiesole is a small town outside Florence which had been an Etruscan city. It was very old and very beautiful. We will stay there next time. We went to an old Abbey which had this very small statue in the wall. It was sculpted for the brothers by the sister of Albert Einstein.. or was it his daughter.

this is the courtyard just outside the chapel where the statue rests. The place was so quiet and peaceful .... also built for munchkins. ... as I write this the snow has started again.... god I should have prayed for sun when I was at Fiesole. The professor spoke English but asked who wanted to just speak Italian. Everyone said Si so I had to try to figure out what was being said. Bobbe got enough to translate. Yes, a beginning intermediate translating to a fool. Actually I picked up quite a bit, especially because I can read roman numerals, and I had Latin and Roman history. It was fun to learn and to see that maybe we could still adapt after all these years.

Ponte Vecchio.. Old Bridge...After we checked out of school we stayed a few days in Firenze in a nice 3 star hotel overlooking the Arno. With a shower in the middle of the bathroom.... later about that. This statue in the Piazza Vecchio is " the Rape of the Sabine Women" The piazza was filled with famous art. The imitation "David" was here, Cosimo, lots of lions and perky women and guys with large........swords. It really was a neat place to watch people. It was 5 blocks from the apartment and two from the hotel.

This is Russell, Barbara and Giovanni. Russell was in Bobbe's language class and my cooking class. So we got to know him. We happen to meet three times this day by accident. First at the Internet cafe, then at Boboli gardens and again when we left Pitti Museo. So we walked to the Piazza Vecchio and talked. He was Australian and was traveling for a while in Italy. He was a Opera singer and was also working as a waiter. Just a very nice kid. About 24 years old. Never did hear him sing, wish we had. That's my relative in the back ground. Cover up you fool. You know you need long arms to take your own picture.

This is Bobbe with a cat at Pitti Museo. I think I put this in two or three times. She was missing her Rockie this day.
Santa Croce from the top of the Duomo. We walked past it everyday and finally on Friday went in. This was my favorite church. Earlier I referred to it as the church with the dead guys. It was. The floors were covered with spaces and tiles and writings about who was buried beneath your feet. You walked right over hundreds of burial places. Each marbled and ornately decorated. This guy from 1500, this was Napoleons daughters spot. The really rich had chapels all over the place. We weren't allowed to take pictures and I respected that. It was hard to walk over someones grave. I just kind of tippy toed around as much as I could......Think a 200# ballerina in Nikes' spinning around Arlington National Cemetery.
When we had seen most of the chapels we noticed a lot of very special statues along the wall. "This the burial place of Dante Alighieri", "This is where Michelangelo is buried", "This is the resting place of Machiavelli", "here lies Marconi" it was really amazing how many very famous people from 100's of years were buried here. .....There was also a leather school where Bobbe bought her only souvenir, a small coin purse. Above is our future apartment. It's in Piazza Santa Croce and had the most wonderful green growth. Picture yourself on the balcony giving beauty waves to the throngs down below. We just came from the mountains you remember. Snow etc.

This extra cat just appeared in the blog. Hey I don't know.... Bobbe is on the right.We only stayed in one very nice hotel. This was the shower. It was in the middle of the room between the toilet and the bidet. When I figured out what it was and told Bobbe she...looked....looked again.... NO, NO I don't believe you!!! then another look and ..Oh my God. I stripped naked on the spot and took a shower. It was weird. Drain on floor and a whole room around you. If the room had had jets in the ceiling I would have felt like a '57 Buick going through a car wash on University ave, with no one watching of course.

Florence is a magnificent city. Great schools, restaurants, unbelievable art and Museo, charm, Vespas, and interesting people. It's a tourist town but still wonderful. We got home and happen to see 60 Minutes and a section on Florence Art and the lost DaVinci. We knew the building but hadn't been in it. We missed so much and saw so much and need to return for a month. I think I'm ready to drive a Vespa in the country side but in the city I don't know. Maybe. We plan to rent a apartment or Agritourisimo house and commute to school. You're all welcome to join us. We just don't know when. Next, Very fast trains and Roma.

Boboli Gardens

These grounds were the private gardens of the Medici family. The Medici were the most powerful family in Florence and all of Italy and one of the wealthiest in Europe between the 14th and 18th centuries. They ruled through the bank they owned and the armies they could buy. The first great Medici was Giovanni (pictured at right).

The gardens were just across the Arno river and up the hill at the Pitti museo. When we had been in the "city" too long the open air and expanse of the gardens was welcomed indeed. I need some space and this place was so nice.

This large plaza contained about 20 statues and the big bath tub in the center. I think the whole place was a little 'strange'

Walking the gardens I spotted many drains made of stone and hundreds of years old. Each was a little different and I just loved them. I think the feet belong to Cosimo the Elder.

Here's a second one at the bottom of a path through intricate vines and bushes. We were followed down this path by a wild eyed cat so Bobbe really liked the place.

On the way out we found this magnificent building. It had a small grotto in the bottom . I wanted to buy it but it wasn't for sale. Gosh!

The colors and condition and the doors. It was like a light house in the garden with no sea within 50 miles. This picture makes it look like the tower in Pisa.

Bobbe took this perfectly composed picture looking back to the Duomo and Florence. She said her father taught her how to compose pictures...... my father taught me how to throw a baseball and change a tire. We spent about an afternoon at Boboli.. don't they make pizza dough...and then went to rest. You really do walk a lot when you're a tourist.

Monterosso Act II- - Pictures I should have shown

I have been told I have not shown enough Sea pictures and enough of the Cinque Terre region.

So here are a few magical shots of the Mediterranean and the CT region. This is a fortress which protected the city. The towns had been linked only by boat until the train came in the 1800's. Each town has a slightly different dialect. I couldn't tell but Bobbe thought certain words were just a little different.

We trained to Riomaggiore one morning and hiked north towards Manarola and Corniglia. The first mile or so was crowded and named the "walk of Love" People had written their names all over the place, Ti Amo. The walk was paved and mostly covered. Steep sides and lots of cliffs.

We got to Manarola in about 10 minutes. This was really my favorite town but a little crowded again. Lots of gelato and a few surly waiters. We all know that story. The ocean is about three blocks down this street. There were lots of rooms for rent in the private houses. Camarere or something like that.





This is a big rock in the sea. That sentence is maybe my best literary statement so far. The coast here reminded us of Oregon. It's smell and ruggedness combined with the small towns and winds. The water is very, very blue but not salty like the pacific.

This is our favorite picture, it's now our screen saver. The color, rocks, beaches and town of Monterosso. Our hotel is towards the end of town, yellow and about 4 stories. I couldn't always tell how high the buildings were as they were built into the steep hills. Monterosso is most famous for its anchovies, not in season. and a sweet wine which was very good. Have I mentioned we drank some wine in Italy?

The vineyards and ocean just seem to collide in this place. The town in this picture is Vernazza, looking south from Monterosso. Corniglia is just around the corner past Vernazza.

Another view up the coast. We encountered rain most of our stay in Cinque Terre but the temps were not too bad and we just didn't care. Cody had just come back from the south of Italy at Positano and had many shots like this one.

Now lets see. Who is this and what is she doing? Is it legal to take rocks and import them without a license? Is that pack FULL of rocks or just her head. Bobbe loves rocks and we have them from every trip we take. Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, Dead Horse Point or Echo park. She gets' them every time. I'm just the mule. Bobbe has a rule, I think it changes every trip but, Each day she 'acquires' a rock and if she finds a nicer one she'll drop the one she has............. right!

A better picture of our balcony in Monterosso. the wind would blow and we'd sit and have some limoncella. Bobbe came home and started a batch. It's doing its thing in the wine cellar and will be ready by June.

Gates and Doors

We have always loved gates and doors. People seem to put time and effort into the opening to their worlds. Some are welcoming and some are forbidding. Some say come in, we are glad to see you. Some say if you attempt to enter you will be killed. Italy had some of the greatest gates. The one on the right is to the wine storage area in Monterosso. It was at the bottom of the vineyards at the end of the monorail track. It says old. What in Italy doesn't say old.

Now this is a gate!!! It appears to be a bunker from WWII, it doesn't say welcome to Monterosso but it's the gate to the city if you are coming by sea. It was very cool.

When we were hiking on the hills above town there were many of these little caves and stone sheds where tools, I imagine, were kept. The doors were about 4 1/2 feet tall and just wide enough for one small person. Often they would have lemon trees growing on the roof or vines as in this case.

Boboli gardens, the Medici's private gardens in Firenze, are now a tourist attraction. About 200 acres or so of statues, manicured lawns and a museo. It is on the altoArno, the south bank of the river. We walked across Ponte Vecchio, a bridge with hundreds of small jewelers with an estimated $100,000,000.00 in diamonds on display. Up the hill from Vecchio were the gardens. This door was on a building which looked like a light house. It was our fav door and building.

This is the door to our apartment in Firenze. There were 6-8 apartments with a small courtyard in the middle. The man rented this one out to students at the school we attended. The building was 5-6 stories and we were on the first floor. Built in the 1800's sometime.

These are church doors in Fiesole, a Florence suburb which had been an Etruscan city at one time. Pre Roman empire. Everything here was as old as dirt and in most cases it was dirt. The Etruscans and Romans built many of their buildings underground for protection.

These are some beautiful doors in Roma. They were simple and magnificent at the same time. They are about 15 feet tall. One night we had dinner and as we were having wine and talking, I noticed a pair of doors across from the restaurant start to open. The doors were bronze arched and two stories high. They were on tracks with an electric opener. A black Mercedes had pulled up and now the doors opened. They led into a passage way which looked to be about 100 feet deep. A security guard on the inside checked the car in and then the doors swung closed. Whoa. Now that place I would have liked to have seen.

These are the coliseum's gates and doors. I just had to get this picture in. This was built in 79a.d. and ransacked in the 500's or so. The coliseum held between 50,000 and 80,000 people, I heard many #'s. It had a roof of cloth for shade.

Another great door. This also is Roma. It led to offices and god knows what else.

This is the door to a small church next to the Pantheon. It contained 14 side altars or chapels. Each one was built by and for a wealthy Roman. There were several Michelangelo's statues. A maintenance man was washing the floors, marble of course, with a miniature street sweeper. Oh for 1 euro you could turn on a set of lights and see each chapel better. They know how to get that euro. Yes, they got one of mine. The chapel was black marble with Mikes' works in blue and some tile work from Donatello.

School And Art

We left Monterosso on Sunday by train to Pisa then on to Firenze (Florence ). I loved the trains. We arrived at the termini in Florence and one of the Michelangelo school professors picked us up and took us to our apartment. He said it was just part of his job and really didn't seem to mind. We saw him several times later and he was always very friendly, asking how we were doing. Bobbe had class M-F from 9a.m. to 1p.m. I had class every other day 1p.m. to 3p.m. Bobbe was in a middle level Italian class and I in a beginner's cooking class. By fate we had the same teacher. His wife cooks in Washington D.C. for several months a year and I think he just used this class to prepare himself lunch. But I did learn a lot and had fun. I also got my lunch. It was interesting how much Bobbe's speaking skills changed in just a week. Next time a month or two.

On days when B was in class I would scout out our afternoon tour. The first day I got lost. No mountains to mark the horizon and the direction. No Tonto either. The second day I found the Duomo and these magnificent doors. 1200-1300 a.d. these are by Lorenzo Ghiberti and they took 27 years to complete. These actually are fakes - the real ones are next door in a museo for preservation. These are only a couple hundred years old. Like me!

This is the Duomo. Began in 1296 and taking 150 years to build. Its real name is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore ( St Mary of the Flower )

The most famous part of the Duomo is the Brunelleschi designed Dome. It's really two domes in one with a staircase in between to keep it lighter. 463 steps lead to the top. So for 6 euros you get to climb up 463 steps and down 463 steps. Here's Bobbe on one of the last sections of steps going up. You go out at the top through a trap door to a walkway with the best view of the city of Firenze. Just don't stand too close to the railing.

Just another magnificent entrance. You walk around with your mouth open looking at all the beauty then you begin to get tired and say" let's get a glass of vino and some limoncello."

This is a statue in the Museo del Bargello. It's Italys' most comprehensive collection of Renaissance sculpture. It was only open from 9 to 1 so I went alone and really loved the place. Lots of Michelangelo and Donatello. Lots of nude guys and perky women con bambini and some lions. Oh and a lady who was restoring a statue. She was scraping away dirt and grime from a Michelangelo, the left side of the nose upper portion. Now that is a job with responsibility!

I loved this lion in the Bargello.

After we got home Bobbe took out her College 'Art History' book and would say things like , Did you know we saw this or did you know we saw that. It was over whelming how much is concentrated in that city. I found this museo when I got lost and thought it was miles from our apartment. Two blocks . Getting lost got me acquainted with the city and I really had a good grasp of it afterwards. So go and get lost.

This is a replica of "David" the real one is a few blocks

away at the Accademia Italiana museo. David stood in the Piazza Vecchio until the 1800's then this replacement was put in and the real one was cleaned and put inside. The Piazza is filled with sculpture and restaurants. We lived about 3 blocks from here near Santa Croce, where all the dead guys are buried. But that's another story.