Firenze
Take Post
October 26th
Thursday has been a day of trying to figure out what to do in Firenze and area for the next few days. There is a shuttle from the Mulino that goes into town and stops at the Hotel Plaza Lucchesi which is on the north side of the Arno, just east of the Ponte alle Grazie. I turns out that this is also owned by the people who own the Mulino and the bus driver tells us that the view from bar on the roof is worth looking into, or at, as the case may be.
But first…we amble off through the streets following our nose and generally moving about with no idea of where we are going…you see we have no plan. We wander a bit north, then a bit east where we stop and check our map. I am curious about where David is so Cat checks her phone and tells me he’s at the Galleria dell’Accademia which is back west a bit, so we head back that way and stand out in front looking at the line up. Perhaps tomorrow or Saturday after we’ve checked out details on tickets. Then it’s on again north and a bit north-west and we end up near the rail station and a big fort. Then we decide this is no fun so we amble back down towards the Arno. All along we are simply watching the many people and just enjoying the amble.
Then we stumble into the piazza with the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, which is made of marble and is a marvel. Neil tells us that marble is a metamorphic limestone low grade, though good and strong for building statues and cathedrales…we hope that’s not a load of geoligist rubbish.
Inside the building it is immense and largely vacant, which is quite in contrast to the amazing look of it outside. It is filled with people filing through but they do so quietly. The underside of the dome is quite the piece of artwork and Cat points out a couple of bizarre images.
Time to de-amble so we stop for a wee bite and a coffee and simply gaze at the building and the people hawking pictures and such.
We’re soon off and down by the Arno again crossing the Ponte alle Grazie. Cat has suggested visiting the Giradino di Boboli so we head that way. It’s a very steep and long climb up a narrow street to the top and when we get there we find it’s a trap. The only way forward is through the garden gate which is going to cost us E20. We decide it may not be worth it and anyway we want to see the Ponte Vecchio which we saw as we crossed the Arno…so back down the hill and an amble across this bridge which has a zillion jewellery shops on it. The buildings appear to have been former houses, much like the original London Bridge. All very quaint but somewhat spoiled by the glitter of gold and silver.
Our feet are aching so we head to the roof-top of the Luchessi as pointed out by the bus driver. The view is indeed quite spectacular and we are obliged to have a seat and a glass of white. Since we are guests at the Mulino we are entitled to a 10% discount, which I duly leave for the waiter who told us this.
Another amble to the old market where there are flea market stalls and absolutely no one pushing anything on you. This is a pleasant chance to browse without being told that this or that would look just fine on my manly frame. Down to the river again to watch some of the rowers then off to the Luchessi and our bus back to Mulino.
We had a great dinner, I ate what Cat ate last night and she ate what I ate last night. We both agreed they were both equally good. I forgot to mention that we were obliged to have a bottle of Chianti Classico since we are essentially in chianti country. This stuff is a far cry from that Chianti we all knew and loved as undergrads….despite the cute baskets that those bottles came with.
……………
October 27th
I’m having trouble keeping the days straight. Apparently this is Friday. The day dawned cloudy and cool. We decided to have a bit of a late start and didn’t have breakfast until 09:00. Today we do have a plan, which is to go to Lucca, just down the road toward Pisa, tour this fabled walled city, then head a bit south and drive through chianti country.
Getting there and finding parking is a breeze, although I imagine in season it could be difficult. Lucca’s wall is about 4 km in circumference and penetrated by at least 6 gates. 
We enter at Porta S. Donata and head to the centre. In one small square we find a fairly recent statue of Puccini and in the corner of the square a museum dedicated to his life. Around the square are a number of restaurants, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Paris Boheme, well….you get the idea.
At the Piazza San Michelle we visit the church then continue on quickly loosing our sense of direction as the narrow streets start to turn. You have to realize that we have no plan for actually being in Lucca so we are again simply ambling. At one point we spot a tower…there are many…but this tower has trees growing on top and people up there. We have to find this tower. That becomes harder than you think as we quickly loose sight of it and the direction it was in. Solution…head to the wall and wander the wall until we can see it again.
A few years ago Cat and I, along with Colin, had walked the wall in Chester, England. This wall is nothing like that wall. First of all it is very, very wide, with a road down the middle. In fact it looks like a park with trees growing and people ambling or biking along. We are slightly above the old town, which is on our right and we can see the new town hustling and bustling to our left.
We can finally see our tower again and determine it’s the Torre Guinigi so a little more along the wall then down into town and a sign in the right direction and bingo we’re at the side entrance. But first…if we’re going to climb this thing we need sustenance. A little bistro provides just the stuff including a very palatble local white and before you know it we’re E30 lighter and ready to climb.
The view is spectacular….and there are 6 small oak trees growing there.
It is getting late in the day and despite the occasional glimpse of sun it is still mainly overcast. We had planned a circuitous route to get to Greve in Chianti but decide to take the fast route so that we can enjoy the views in the daylight. A quick zip down the A11, A1, to the SR222 and we are in the heart of chianti country.
It is too bad that we left this so late in the day, but there is something enchanting about the fall colours and the mist coming off the surrounding mountains. Greve is a cute town and we’ll have to come back some day to do a proper wine tour of this region. It is classic tuscany and the wine is superb.
Enough for one day…back to the Mulino and some R&R in perparation for tomorrow.
Stand Down