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11:59 pm – Italy – Day 5 – Florence (Firenze)
 Beth and I hopped in Lesly and Gary's
car and the four of us headed for the Figline train
station and miraculously found a parking space close by. Along the way we again witnessed some of
the beautiful poppy fields that dot the local countryside. After figuring out the local technique of
stamping our purchased tickets, we took the next train out, which was, of
course a local. Forty or so minutes
later we pulled into the Florence (or more
properly, Firenze
as the Italians have it) train station.
Gary
had previously asked for a schedule at the Figline
station, but received a rather curt "No" for his efforts. In Florence
we stopped by the Information area where a wizened old crone who spoke
pleasant English gave us printouts for our various stops for the upcoming
weekend. She would then hand you the
print  out of the
information that sputtered from an ancient PC and printer. If you asked for more directions, she
snatched the paper back and printed the new information on the opposite
side. God only knows what would have
happened if you asked for a third set of directions. When we asked how to reach the Uffizi
museum (our first stop), she gestured toward a locked glass door. It was actually very amusing.
We somehow made it for our 10:15 AM appointment (we had booked ahead -
a must if you don't want to wait in line for 2 hours for a ticket), passing
by in a rush the astounding Duomo (more about this
monument later). In Florence,
it just doesn’t pay to get yourself into a Firenze about things. After figuring out how to cash in our
reservations, we started our tour. The
Uffizi is a mammoth place - if you're from New York, think the Metropolitan - and
thankfully, I had read a guide book that headed us toward the exhibits that I
thought we're of the most interest when you only have a short period of
time. These were rooms 10-15, which
included most of the Botticelli works and ended
with Leonardo da Vinci exhibits.
The Botticellis just about made me weep, they
were so magnificent. Even though I
really don't know much about them - or really about painting at all - despite
some humanities and arts courses that I've taken, I took a flying interpretation
of Primavera involving Adam and
Eve. Lesly
took a quick read of the painting and let me know that I wasn't even
close. OK, just for the record, the
actual meaning has been debated for years.
But this is what it really means:
 The central
figure is Venus, goddess of spring and love.
On the right, Zephyr the god of the West wind,
chases the nymph Chloris who is metamorphosed into
flower-decked Flora. On the left,
Mercury wards off the clouds of winter while the Three Graces perform a dance
under the threat of blind-folded Cupid's arrow. The work is an allegory of Spring
(primavera). It represents the Triumph of Venus, the graces representing her
beauty; Flora representing her fruitfulness.
Or something like that. But not Adam and Eve.
Cloris
and Zephyr also make an appearance in what is arguably the Uffizi's most
famous work, the first 'pagan' nude of the Renaissance, The Birth of Venus. The
supporting figures blow the risen Venus to shore on a half-shell where, I
suppose, someone is waiting to clothe her.
Since I didn't take any photos in the Uffizi, the 2 photos of the
paintings to the left and right are from Internet sources.
We split up with Lesly and Gary at about this
point and would meet up with them later for dinner.
Florence has few confirmed attributed works by da Vinci; however, Room 15 at the Uffizi has his sublime Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi. The latter was left unfinished when he left
Tuscany for Milan to paint The Last Supper. There is
superb video at the museum explaining the processes whereby, in recent times,
the work has undergone various infrared technologies to bring forth da Vinci's hidden intentions.
And for those of us (and I include myself here) who can't get enough of
good old Leonardo, there is a mammoth special exhibition entitled La Mente da Vinci (the mind of da Vinci). This is
not to be missed. From his engineering
and inventive feats to his painting techniques and including his mirror
writing (a computer generated film of his hand making the actual right- and
left-handed strokes of some of his known writings), this is just a mind
expanding experience. Perhaps
fascinating to those of you who might be The
da Vinci Code aficionados is a short film
documenting and explaining his actual code writing - a form of pictorial
hieroglyphics. When we caught our
train, we noticed that Ron Howard's motion picture based on the The da Vinci Code
opens at the local cinema in Figline in just two
days. We thought briefly about going
to see it here, but, as with most Italian versions of Hollywood
movies, it is probably going to be dubbed rather than sub-titled and my
Italian is virtually non-existent.
 Beth and I spent
a good hour and a half exploring the exhibit and I'm sorry that I'm just
unable to give you the feeling one gets for the sheer magnitude of da Vinci's genius.
After leaving the gallery, we I were a bit foot weary, but decided to
take a stroll along the Arno and across the Ponte Vecchio (the only  Florentine bridge
spared by the Nazis during the retreat of 1944). This 'Old Bridge'
is not so much a transport across the river as one long shopping mall. There is, however, a large space in the
center of the bridge where the exquisite view of sky, water and buildings
beyond can be glimpsed. We stopped on
the other side at the charming wine bar La
Volpe L'una in Piazza del Rossi, which sits
just off another Piazza (and therefore, difficult to locate). Along with a delicious panini,
I quaffed two glasses of a 2000 Nobile Montepulcino Risirva from Gattavecchi. Beth
had a '05 Pienoletto as we relaxed before setting
out for a walk to the Galleria dell' Accademia.
I suppose, like most tourists (or perhaps the less pejorative
'travelers'), we went to L'Accademia primarily to
see Michelangelo's David. Despite its familiarity, this monumental
sculpture (the sheer size is shocking) is awe-inspiring in its chill, marble
flesh. Carved from a 50-foot tall
block of marble, I was surprised by the non-proportionally large head, hands
and feet. His remaining appendage
appeared to be more in the normal range.
We're he sized as was our friend Igor
of Greve, perhaps even the Florentines would be
shocked. Kidding aside, Michelangelo's
'heroic conception of the human will' is as impressive an artwork as we
humans are likely to produce.
While there are other works of art at the museum - most notably Giamgolgna's Rape
of the Sabines - most are a collection is of
only intermittently interesting Gothic and Renaissance paintings. If you visit, you will pay the city's
highest admission charge to be in the company of David. And it is well
worth it.
Beth and I spent the next few hours wandering through Florence's
central market, San Lorenzo. After the David, it was back to reality
with throngs of visitors filling the streets of this open-air bazaar. Beth showed real forbearance by passing up
a particularly striking orange handbag and a reasonably priced rolling
suitcase. She made up for it later
with her purchase (not in San Lorenzo) of a
stunning pair of gold, open-toe shoes.
After spending a couple of blissful hours sipping a vodka at the
outdoor café, Gilli (during which time Beth went
back to find those shoes), we met up for dinner with Gary and Lesly and we're joined by Lesly's
parents and their friends Sashi and Bob. Beth had made a previous reservation at Alle Murate - an incredible restaurant built
over the 14th century premises of the Guild of Judges and Notaries.
Now a museum, this site was discovered only recently when the
restaurant was digging out a spot for their wine celler. We were escorted to our dining section down
within the old stone walls where Plexiglas sections of the floor allowed a
view of an even older section from purportedly the Etruscan era. Frescos on the wall contain the earliest
confirmed portrait of Italy's
greatest poet, Dante Alighieri.
The meal was simply out of this world consisting of the following
courses:
White beans with shrimp and fried suge
Scallops with roasted red pepper tortellini with ricotta, basil & fresh
tomatoes
Parmesan soufflé with balsamic reduction
Filet of Beef with Artichokes and green beans
Flowerless chocolate tart with whipped cream or cheesecake with
chantilly cream and strawberries
The staff operated with flawless execution and substitutions were made
without hesitation allowing for different tastes.
Oh boy, what a way to finish up the day.
Besides having a scare thinking that we were on the wrong train (an
idea that was nicely corrected by some fellow American travelers), the ride
back to Figline was uneventful. We rolled into the villa around midnight
and I started recording the whirlwind adventures packaged into one day in Florence.
Tomorrow: Monsanto
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