An Italian Holiday -- Part 2 Firenze

The second stop on our Italian holiday was the Renaissance City of Florence or, in Italian, Firenze.  We met up with our daughter and her boyfriend at the train station.  Italian trains are cheap, convenient, comfortable and amazingly, on time.  You could spend a lifetime exploring this wonderful city but we had a mere three days.  Over Skype, from Seattle, the four of us had coordinated an itinerary that included visits to two of the more famous art institutes and the Boboli gardens plus plenty of time to walk around, shop and eat.  I basically love walking; from my perspective it is both good exercise and the best way to experience the architecture, the parks, the trees, the (spring) flowers and the people in a new place.  The first afternoon, we reserved tickets for the Galleria dell’Accademia, home since 1873 to Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture, David.  Since we could not check into our apartment until 5 pm we opted to walk to the art gallery with our luggage (thank goodness for the invention of wheelie suitcases and backpacks) and then take a cab directly to the apartment.

Florence is a whirl of tourists and commerce.  Everywhere you look a different store tempts you.  More than half the shops are selling leather – pelle vera – real leather, and the other half are selling designer clothes and hand painted ceramics.  You would have to be the most restrained consumer in the world not to go on a shopping spree in Florence and even more self-controlled not to end up buying something made of leather.  It doesn’t really matter what your budget is.  There is something in every price range.  

Endless leather trinkets compete with luxury jackets, wallets, purses, you name it.  As we walked towards the Galleria, along the narrow streets and past what seemed like hundreds of tempting stores, we tried to keep our focus on finding  lunch, promising ourselves that later in afternoon we would shop!  Unlike in Venice, where the streets are crowded only with pedestrians, in Florence we competed with scooters and motorcycles, cars and trucks.  We stopped at the window of a little street-side sandwich shop and ordered Panini to go.  I chose braceola – dried beef – with a creamy cheese and arugula.  We were so hungry we just ate standing on the sidewalk.  It didn’t matter.  The sandwiches were delicious.  Tummies full, we walked the last block to the museum with plenty of time to change our pre-booked reservation for tickets.  Given the length of the un-reserved ticket lines, I was very happy we had made reservations in advance.

A friend had told me that her first sight of Michelangelo’s David, at the end of the purpose-built hall, was breathtaking.  She was right.  There, at the end of the long hall stood the magnificent David – luminous and triumphant from defeating Goliath, his slingshot still slung over his shoulder, his nostrils flared from the exertion of battle.  The Galleria was built to house David in the late nineteenth century – after air pollution in his original outdoor home, the Piazza delle Signori, threatened to damage the marble.  Now a replica stands in the Piazza while the original glows inside.  David is giant, taller than I imagined, more striking than I expected.  I circled the statue, looking at every detail, noticing the toes of an athlete, the veins popping in his neck, the strength of musculature beneath the taut surface.  You certainly don’t need me to tell you this is a brilliant piece of work.  Go and see it if you possibly can.  It’s worth your effort.

Later, we walked to a nearby taxi stand, and drove to our apartment.  We crossed the Arno River, climbed up past the Piazza Michelangelo, and circled back down a winding parkway to our neighborhood, close to the Boboli Gardens.  While I waited for the greeter, the rest of my family went to buy necessities, coffee, milk, and bread, and of course, wine.  They returned with all the fixings for caprese salad as well.  We opened the wine and toasted our first day in Florence.  

That night we walked through our quiet neighborhood to a small family-oriented trattoria where my daughter and husband shared Bistecca Fiorentina and artichokes.  I ate an extremely tasty Tuscan Ribollita – a bit different than the one I make but absolutely delicious.  Next time I make a ribollita I will incorporate a couple of innovations from Florence – using less liquid to make the dish more like a stew; integrating the kale by breaking it into smaller pieces and using all the croutons in the bowl as opposed to as a garnish.  That said I was happy to find that the dish I make is very similar to the authentic Tuscan fare.  Just for fun, back home in the United States on Mother’s Day, my husband made Bistecca Fiorentina with fresh rosemary from our Seattle garden.  It wasn’t exactly the same as in Florence but it was pretty darn tasty.

The next morning we woke up, polished off some strong espresso and left our apartment.  We had a full schedule to accomplish – a visit to the Uffizi; a leather buying expedition; aperitifs and a 7:30 pm dinner reservation at a highly recommended restaurant in our neighborhood.   Being a tourist can be hard work!  It was Sunday morning and as we walked towards the Ponte Vecchio, the Via Romana was suddenly full of runners!  It was an organized charity run for breast cancer!  We threaded our way through the runners, cheering them on for their important cause. 

The Uffizi is well worth the price of admission.  One of the older art galleries in the world, it is, in the words of my guidebook, a visit with the Renaissance.  The Botticelli gallery alone is breathtaking, my two favorites of course, the crowd pleasing Birth of Venus and Primavera.  The museum is full of blockbusters.  Another favorite was Michelangelo’s Holy Family, shining out from its frame as if lit from behind in three dimensions.  For someone who did not like painting and thought it a second-class pursuit to the “more challenging” three dimensionality of sculpture, Michelangelo did a pretty good job of painting!  The Uffizi houses so many extraordinary paintings and sculptures it is hard to absorb it all.  After a couple of hours you feel full, visually and intellectually stuffed. We definitely needed a break for a cappuccino in the middle of our visit! 

Later, we left the museum and wandered the streets, now in full consumer mode.  I didn’t know I needed one but in the end I bought a leather jacket.  So did two of the three others in my party.  And why not?  I didn’t own a leather jacket and now I do and, best of all it is yellow, not bright like a daffodil but gold like the color of burnished wheat.  Furthermore it has zippy pockets to store things in safely AND they gave us a family discount.  Bargaining is part of the fun.  After finishing our purchases it was clearly time for aperitifs…and what else but Aperol spritz, the current, most popular Italian drink.  At the recommendation of the waiter we ordered a selection of Tuscan antipasto – bruschetta; patés; olives; fungi; and a small omelet with fresh truffle cream – all delicious and rapidly consumed!  Plus we still had a long walk to our dinner spot....

On our last day, we lazed around our lovely apartment in the morning, sitting on the pretty terrace working while our laundry dried in the bright sunshine.  Soon we ventured out to finish shopping, buy our train tickets and stroll through the beautiful Boboli gardens.  I had been to the gardens before but the tree covered pathways and timeless statuary were as peaceful as I remembered.  I was interested to find a few modern sculptures set in the garden with the older more traditional ones.  It was a warm sunny day and the gardens were full of people, like us, enjoying the spring sunshine.  We stopped on the way home for a final Aperol spritz and to buy pasta and greens for dinner.  There is so much to see in Florence but I was excited to get on the train to my daughter’s home near Genoa.  I’ll have to go back to Florence another time. 

An Italian Holiday -- Part 1 Venice

The month of April whipped by me like a whirlwind.  Luckily for me, this first full month of spring included a visit to my daughter in Italy.  What better excuse is there to plan an Italian vacation?  Our daughter and her boyfriend – recently, following their engagement, her soon-to-be husband, are living on the Ligurean coast just outside of Genoa for nine months.  Our trip consisted of visits to four different parts of Italy.  We loved them all:  the common theme was, of course, the remarkable food but each place had a unique charm that made us want to stay much longer.  What is it about Italy that captures your imagination and makes you want to linger and return?  Perhaps it is the pleasing landscapes and the classic architecture?  Perhaps it is the country’s wonderful history and extraordinary art? Or perhaps it is simply the food: the pasta, the olives, the wine and the incredible variety of fresh vegetables?  Whatever the reason, a vacation in Italy is always captivating and all the more so when your own daughter is there and able to speak Italian!

First up on our trip was Venice with the maze and mystery of its canals; next came Florence with its Renaissance masterpieces – a shoppers’ paradise; then our daughter’s home in Genoa/Nervi and the rocky Ligurean coast, otherwise known as the Italian Riviera; last and not least was Trapani, the old Sicilian seaport with its rugged landscape, offshore islands and ancient, elegant ruins.  It is impossible to choose a favorite among these four wonderful places.  I will try to describe in my next few blogs why we loved them and why you should make an effort to visit all of these places if you possibly can. 

It is easy to be a tourist in Italy even if you don’t speak Italian.  Everyone seems genuinely happy to see you and delighted to share their food, their culture, and their rich history and pour you a glass of local wine!  Italy is the perfect place for an active older (or for that matter younger) tourist who wants to enjoy delicious food but doesn’t want to gain weight!  A visit to Italy requires a lot of walking and that burns off the calories!  There is so much to see and in most places, walking is the only way to see it.  On the average day, even without trying, we walked at least six or seven miles.  On the one day when we decided to go for an actual hike, we walked more than ten miles – most of it straight up and then straight down hill.  Italy, and particularly the Ligurean coast, is very hilly and your leg muscles get a great work out.  I definitely needed to stretch after that hike and I definitely deserved my mid-afternoon gelato.  Lucky we’d been spending time staying strong in the gym back in Seattle.  A very good reason to exercise regularly, as you get older, is to ensure you can manage “walking” vacations.

Our first stop, after an easy but long trans-Atlantic flight, was Venice.  We flew overnight and arrived at the Venice airport about 10:30 in the morning.  My husband and I are in the habit of renting apartments when we travel instead of staying in hotels.  Nowadays, the range and types of apartments available for short-term rental are wonderful.  We prefer the homey feel and the extra space and amenities that apartments bring – a kitchen, a place to sit other than on a bed and the experience of living in another culture – even if only for a short time.   We’ve also found that apartments are often cheaper than hotels and of course, cooking at home is definitely cheaper than eating in restaurants every night.  On the advice of friends, I chose to rent an older apartment in a largely residential neighborhood away from the tourist bustle of San Marco Square for our four days in the medieval town.

The apartment was in a charming, but quiet part of the old town.  We found it easily by taking a boat taxi directly from the airport and pulling our wheelie suitcases over cobble stoned streets the few blocks distance to the apartment.  After a short nap – it’s a long way from Seattle to Italy – we ventured out for lunch, a little sight seeing and food shopping.  Lunch was the easy part of our first outing.  Venice is jammed with restaurants – osterias, trattorias, sidewalk cafés, every kind of eatery you can imagine except perhaps the fast food kind.  No Subways or McD’s to be seen.  Instead we found small, family-run restaurants, one after another, lining the neighborhood canals with pretty wooden tables and umbrellas. 

Venice doesn’t have any cars or trucks at all.  Instead, the town is a network of canals filled with boats of every size and variety – playing the roles that cars, trucks and buses usually play.  I don’t know exactly what I was expecting since of course I’d read about Venice’s canals.  I’d seen pictures of gondolas and large passenger ferries but I guess none of that really sunk in.  I just did not expect that Venice wouldn’t have any streets or motorized wheeled vehicles at all.  I also did not realize how peaceful it is to have no cars or trucks or buses.  To the extent that there are streets they are narrow and exclusively for pedestrians.  Even bicycles aren’t allowed and that makes a lot of sense.  If you were on a bicycle you’d be getting off every few feet to climb up steps and over a bridge across a canal.  Every neighborhood in Venice is connected to the others by arched bridges that cross the seemingly endless maze of canals. 

The whole landscape is ridiculously picturesque and simply beckons you to enjoy it.  It isn’t necessary to have something specific in mind for a Venetian holiday.  It is enough to be there and to wander; to simply enjoy being in Venice.  Just being present is compelling.  For example, sitting in the living room of our rented apartment, I just wanted to look out of the big windows all day long, admiring the occasional gondola and the back and forth rhythm of boats moving on the canal below me.  Across from me, on the other side of the canal, I admired a stately fifteenth or sixteenth century building.  Forest green shutters set off its tall windows; the roof was made of terra cotta tiles and the walls were rich yellow ochre stucco.  It was so pleasing to my eye and looked much as it must have during the Renaissance – sturdy and majestic at the same time. 

Venice is full of tourists but pleasantly so.  Everyone is there to explore and enjoy.  My husband likened it to an adult Disneyland and there are some aspects that are reminiscent.  For example, everyone is there to enjoy him- or herself; every corner brings a new and interesting building or a lovely view and something new to explore.  Perhaps one of our favorites was all the different kinds of boats – private boats carrying one or two kids home from school; taxi boats carrying families or friends out and about; gondolas full of tourists moving languidly down the canals or large boat buses carrying folks to work or play; commercial boats transporting goods and equipment; working boats full of tools en route to fix buildings or repair plumbing; delivery boats; and everywhere, bridges, churches, small alleys lined with pretty colored stucco or brick buildings.  On one afternoon, we ventured out into the lagoon on a larger boat, i.e., a Venetian “bus” to visit three different nearby islands.  The suburbs of Venice are adjacent islands.  The first island we visited is the most famous, Murano, where the wonderful Venetian glass blowers set up their factories in the thirteenth century to avoid fire dangers in the city.  Murano is still full of glass factories and the prices range from pennies for a small souvenir to tens of thousands for one of a kind works of glass art.  The second island was largely rural and undeveloped – although its history is older than that of Venice itself.  Its claim to fame is a beautiful cathedral built in the seventh century and the adjacent 11^th century church that honors Santa Fosca – a fifteen-year-old girl from Libya who converted to Christianity but turned herself into her irate father only to be tortured to death.  It seems religious intolerance is not confined to the 21^st century.  The final island we visited, Burano, was my favorite only because its multi-hued houses were so striking.  The story goes that the Burano fishermen each painted his house a different color so that he could find it when returning from long fishing voyages.  Whatever the origin, the houses are a rainbow of colors and delightfully bright.

Perhaps our favorite experience in Venice was not visiting historically important cathedrals or museums but simply the experience of wandering around the neighborhoods, seeing the sights and getting lost!  We spent much of every day doing just this.  Somehow we found our way to a remote Venetian mask store, to the open-air fish market at Rialto, to a tasty restaurant in a distant neighborhood that was recommended to us.  We walked through peaceful squares, the so-called campos and past impressive buildings with wrought iron balconies overflowing with flowers, we wandered down tiny little alleys that dead ended at the edge of narrow canals; we admired medieval statues and small fountains, we climbed up and over countless bridges, and ventured into little bars, cafés and explored beautiful cathedrals.  We kissed in the moonlight standing on the bridge over our canal and held hands so we didn’t lose each other in the crowds of tourists.  In our four days, we felt as if we had just touched the surface of Venice.  We will have to go back again.