Ti Amo, Firenze (or "Kissing the Pig")
Written: Jul 05 '02 (Updated Jul 05 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The art and architecture, the food, the culture, the warm people
Cons: None. Okay...some old plumbing.
The Bottom Line: One of the best places to experience foreign travel, soak up culture, and eat like royalty!
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| miselainis's Full Review: Florence |
Of all the cities I have visited, I would have to say Florence stands high above the others as a shining example of history and the beauty of the arts.
In 1991, I visited Florence with my mother and a friend of hers from years ago. We also visited Milan, Livorno (my advice...skip it...it's like Channelview on a bad day...), Pisa, Pordenone, Lago di Santa Croce, Venice, Lake Maggiore (see my review at http://www.epinions.com/content_40157875844), and we passed through lots of other small burgs during our trip.
We had not booked any of our hotels before the trip (this was before the internet, and we knew that our friend Marco, who travels around Italy, would be able to recommend some quality, not so expensive hotels for us. He did.)
We had rented a Fiat Tipo at Milan's Malpensa Airport, and drove that sucker all over northern Italy. Word to the wise: If you're traveling in Italy, rent a car with a full trunk so you can hide the luggage from evil eyes. We had some friends who rented a hatchback, and had all their luggage stolen when they were in Turin. The Tipo was a good bet in this area-- huge like a station wagon, but with a full closed-in trunk.
Marco recommended the Auto Park Hotel in Florence, which is on the north western outskirts of town. It is almost directly off the highway, but is nestled in a residential neighborhood. Marco had given us good directions, but as we were looking for the Firenze Nord exit from the autostrada, the signs suddenly appeared. We barely had a chance to blink before the turnoff!
The main street around the corner from the hotel is full of small shops and giornalistas (news stands). Around the corner is the auto park, full of secured covered spaces for your car, protected by a high fence. All around are tall apartment buildings. A small park sits nearby.
We had some problems with our reservation. Evidently Marco had only booked us for one night, but we needed two nights. It was late afternoon already, and we were gearing up for a full day in town the next day. The only problem was that the hotel was completely booked! The clerk was an amazingly efficient girl named Chiara. She promised us she would call us the next morning as soon as they might have a cancellation so we'd know if we'd have to make other plans that night.
I managed to get all our bags out of the car and up to the room. No small feat considering we had about 6 or 7 bags between the three of us, and none of them rolled! The bellboy gave me some help. A refresher of a Moretti beer sure tasted good after that!
Our room was for three persons. The beds were typical European no-frills, with spreads and decent pillows. Maybe a little droopy but not too terrible. We had our own phone and TV, and the rooms were air conditioned. We were there in September, but it was still a little warm, so the air felt good.
My mom and our traveling companion were ready for a nap. Mom had just negotiated us through the traffic nightmare of Pisa that day, so she was exhausted. I was just starting to get a second wind, and wanted to go exploring on my own. After experiencing the guided tour of France (see my Paris review at http://www.epinions.com/content_67907784324), and seeing the rest of Italy with two ladies of a certain age, I wanted to get a few breaths of Florence on my own. I'm so glad I did!
I strolled down the streets close to the hotel, leaving by way of the auto park entrance. I ended up on the avenue that ran parallel to the highway (Viale Alessandro Guidoni), browsing through a music store and a giornalista. Then I turned the corner on the Via della Torre degli Agli, and crossed the busy Via de Novoli to check out the supermercato across the street. Marco and his wife had had some wonderful foam bath (bagno schiuma) that smelled really good! I wanted to pick up some. And some of the great Lavazza coffee we'd been drinking.
I headed back on the Torre Agli, then hung a left on Valdisieve to pass through the little park. At the end, I spied a gelateria, and paused inside for a gelato limone. Yummy and cold and delicious! Since I was wearing my Bouffant Jellyfish T-shirt (a local Austin band from the 80s and 90s), that started some interesting (if somewhat limited by my Italian) conversations with intrigued local teenagers. I had begun picking up a little at a time, and learned that Italians were delighted if I even said "Mi dispiace, non parla bene Italiano." (I'm sorry, I don't speak Italian very well). That was all they needed to give me a pat on the back and get me to try harder!
I decided to head back to the park to enjoy my gelato. I had just taken a seat on a bench, taking in the amazing vacation I was having, when I spied four old men and their big black dog relaxing and talking a few benches down. I looked over and smiled. The dog was a huge fluffy thing that resembled a black bear.
They smiled back, and encouraged me to come over to talk to them. I finished my gelato, walked over and said "Que bella Cane'!" (What a pretty dog!) Many laughing "grazie!"s ensued when I leaned down and snuggled his head. Even in Italy dogs dig that.
They asked me about myself and my name. I guess they could tell I was American from the outset. I had never had an official Italian lesson, but my mom had taught me a few of the phrases they'd used when they lived here, and I picked up a lot just by knowing French. I had no proper verb conjugation, but used a lot of French to connect words, and they seemed to understand just fine. This was quite a change from France, where your French would actually be corrected if you did not say something correctly! These men applauded me for knowing what little I did know, and trying to speak to them that way.
I told them that my name was "Milaina."
"Milena??!" they cried. And I could tell from what they were saying was that I was American, but my name was Italian. How was that?
I told them that mama and papa had lived here "trente anno pasato" (30 years ago), and Mama piace MOLTO "Milena." (She really liked the name)
"Brava!" they cried, at the fact that my name was a good solid Italian one, and that I had explained it so well. Talking to these old men was one of my golden memories of Florence. The people were complete strangers, but when we left, I felt like I had really made some new friends. Soon, I had to tell them I needed to get back to my hotel, but that it had been wonderful talking to them. Of course, I was serenaded with "Arrivaderci!"s upon my departure, and we all waved.
For dinner, we asked Chiara for a good restaurant nearby, and she recommended La Marina, around the corner from the hotel. The maitre d' was rather curt, but seated us in the bar area. I was famished. But since I'd been living on pasta from Milan to now, I thought I would try some of the roast meats of the region. I'd been attempting to try regional specialties as much as I could, to get the full cultural experience. I had the "Tortellini in Brodo" (tortellini in broth), a wonderful chicken-flavored broth with pasta for a first course. Then I ordered the pollo arrosto (roast chicken), which was wonderfully juicy and delicious.
We also had an excellent house red wine with dinner. For dessert, I suggested the tiramisu to everyone. I was so excited to find it on the menu, since I'd never had it before. Now this was 1991, and at the time, very few people in America had heard of tiramisu. It wasn't on restaurant menus everywhere like it is now. I'd seen it in a Good Housekeeping recipe section, and had to have it. After this meal, we were ALL devotees! I wanted to order it for breakfast, lunch AND dinner! The ladyfingers were nestled in a sweet creamy concoction of mascarpone cheese, coffee liqueur, and dusted chocolate. I'd have to say this first experience with tiramisu is still my best.
We waddled back to our rooms that night and prepared ourselves for our big day in Florence the next day. And good for her word, Chiara called and told us she had another room we could move into. So after that, we headed down for breakfast in the hotel cafe, where we enjoyed the basic continental of bread, preserves, juice, coffee, and hot chocolate.
Marco had told us that a good thing about the Auto Park Hotel is that you can be in downtown Florence in no time without having to deal with the enormous crowds with digs in that area. We liked that. The #22 autobus stopped out on the Via Alessandro Guidoni, so we caught that down to the train station near Santa Maria Novella. You can buy your bus tickets in the giornalista shop for the bus you want to take. The bus signs along the route can help you figure out which bus you need.
From Santa Maria Novella, we set out on foot for the Duomo (the church usually shown in photos of Florence). Mom and Pat were so happy to be traveling with a student versed in art history, so we admired Ghiberti's doors on the baptistery, and I explained some of the iconography of the scenes I recognized (anunciation, crucifixion, potential sacrifice of Isaac)
We descended down the Via Roma to one of the churches that I really wanted to see, the Or San Michele, a very small church with statues by Donatello and Nanni di Banco that I had studied years before. I admired Saint George and Saint Mark, and the Four Crowned Martyrs, and walked around taking pictures, as I provided more info to mom and Pat.
Aways down the Via Roma and we encountered the Mercato Nuovo (the new market, as opposed to the old market, which used to exist in Piazza Repubblica). If you are a shopper, this is a must-see. The "Straw MArket", as it is also called, is full of merchants peddling their wares. Everything from silk scarves and hats to leather bags, wallets, dolls, table linens, and jewelry. Be careful when buying Vuitton and Gucci, because a great deal (if not all) of it is fake. I purchased a beautiful black and white Carrara marble chess set for a song. The dealer even packed it securely in a padded box when I told him where I was traveling to in the States. Some of these guys can be haggled with, so give it a try. But don't insult them by trying to negotiate them down too far. That's rude. All of them speak English, so that's always a plus. Don't forget to kiss the snout of "Il Porcellino" (the bronze pig statue) for good luck! (Or rub his snout. Depends who you ask, I guess)
In need of public "facilities?" We were, and one of the ladies at the market directed us down the street to the Piazza Signoria (the very photographed main square of Florence). She said if we entered the Palazza Vecchio (the old palace where the tower sits), and headed down to the basement, we'd find the necessary equipment for our predicament.
Now imagine how old the Palazzo Vecchio is. This place has probably been there since the 1200/1300s. I was pretty tempted to say the same of the plumbing, even though I knew it wasn't true. I seem to remember a really long line, and a single or maybe two stalls. The hosts had been kind enough to make signs in English, French, German, Italian, & Spanish that said to please not throw the toilet paper in the toilet. So others began to help them by finishing the sentiment down the wall in Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Geordie accented English, and other languages. The one that made me giggle was the Australian version: "Don't throw yer dunny paper in the dunny. No worries."
Knowing we were going to be spending a great deal of time that afternoon in the Uffizi, we decided to grab some cash at the Banco in the square and then grab some lunch. One of the nicest restaurants in the Piazza was Il Bargello. We made ourselves comfortable at an outside table, enjoying the beautiful scenery, the beautiful weather, and the palpable thrill of being in Florence. I had never seen my mom so happy. She had talked about coming back since I was a baby.
The view was amazing. To our right were the Neptune fountain and copy of Michelangelo's David. To our left were the fragrant blossoms in the planters, in front of us was the constantly changing flood of international tourists. All around us were the myriad accents of German, French, Japanese, Turkish, and something vaguely Scandinavian. This was it. I was in love with a city. For the first time in my life.
Because Pat and I could never agree on a wine, we ordered two bottles. One a dry red, and one a sweet white. I ordered the tortellini alla panna (in cream sauce) to start with, then the penne al salmone (pasta with salmon). Both were mouthwatering. Of course, we ended the meal with espresso and tiramisu. But I was disappointed when the tiramisu came with a partially frozen bottom. It had evidently been in a refrigerator/freezer case and was not completely fresh. The espressso of course packed a wallop after 2 bottles of wine split three ways. Because of the volume of food and wine and the coperti (table charge) for our beautiful location, we paid through the nose for that lunch. Several hundred thousand lire. But I wouldn't have changed a thing!
The Uffizi was a revelation. A pilgrimage, if you will. Because I missed so much of the Louvre (aforementioned Paris review), I had determined to enjoy every single millimeter of the Uffizi-- to drink it up like wine-- to completely revel in the fact that I had studied these paintings and held them to my heart as precious.
We stood outside waiting for the gallery to open, and when we did, had to ascend several flights of steep stone stairs. I didn't mind, but mom and Pat were struggling up. Florence experienced disastrous floods in 1966, and many of the beautiful, irreplaceable works of art were damaged. Thus, they raised the level of the paintings to keep them out of harm's way in case of another occurrence.
The first room contained many madonnas. This time, I didn't have to yawn and move into the next room. I studied their expressions, and thought about the work put into each one by Cimabue, Duccio and Giotto, among others.
Also prominently featured here are the Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello, the Saint Lucy Altarpiece by Domenico Veneziano, Adoration of the Magi (the incredible gold-framed Strozzi alterpiece) by Gentile da Fabriano, a tender and sweet Madonna and Child by Fra Filippo Lippi (I love his quirky little faces), and so many more. Although I was a little disappointed that my favorite Mannerist piece, Madonna with the Long Neck was out for restoration. Mom and Pat were smug and happy when they saw others begin to listen as I explained paintings for them. That was kind of cool. They told me they didn't need a tour guide since they had me.
One of the toppers is the room full of Botticellis. Primavera, the Birth of Venus, and others. You can't fathom how HUGE they are until you stand in a room full of them. And they are beautiful.
About half of the way through the museum, the wine and coffee combo started doing a number on me. I felt like I was walking through jell-o, and the whole room started sparkling. My skin was tingling in a really strange way. I'll share some advice. Never mix coffee and booze. Unless you want to be really drunk. But awake to enjoy the whole thing.
After the museum, we hit the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge full of goldsmith's shops. I had so wanted to go to see the David at the Accademia, but the huge news in Italy at the time was that a few days before, a psycho had chopped the statue's toe off! He was closed while experts tried to see if he could be repaired. We did some shopping around the stores between the bridge and Santa Maria Novella, but our feet were already on fire. We intended on seeing more of Florence the next day, and decided to head back to hotel. But the next day I was overruled.
Our eventual destination was Aviano, to the Air Force Base where my father had been stationed. We were headed to a reunion of all the folks who'd been stationed there, and my mom wanted to get closer to the area where we'd be staying, and she wanted to check out some of their old haunts in Pordenone, Udine, and their old house in Sacile. My second day in Florence was canceled.
I was so crushed. The Boboli Gardens... so many churches I still wanted to see...they will all have to wait until I return. It's hard to fall in love and be yanked away. But it's always there in my heart.
Links and info for your vacanza in Firenze--
Uffizi Gallery:
http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/welcomeE.html
Auto Park Hotel:
Via Valdegola,1 Via Lippi e Macia,22int - Firenze 50100 (FI)
Tel: +39 055431771 - Fax: +39 0554221557
E-Mail: autoparkhotel@tin.it
http://www.firenzealbergo.it/dettaglio_hotel.asp?ID=61&LINGUA=ENG
Il Bargello:
Piazza Signoria 4r (Signoria)
Tel. +39 055 21 40 71, closed on Monday
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
miselainis
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Laini
Location: Rowlett, Texas, USA
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
"Chagrinned and Bewildered"
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