Monday 17 August 2009
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- bazza
Windsor, 16:29 UTC
- Coppetta Stracciatella, an Italian folk artiste, sang about how patience and compromise bring their own rewards. Yesterday, after leaving our hotel in Radda and driving north to Florence, we patiently made half a dozen attempts to drive down the correct one-way street in the city centre to be able to reach the garage where we had to drop our car off. Got there eventually, and took our luggage to the baggage deposit at the station so we could enjoy the city for the eight or so hours we had until our train left for Paris at 9pm.
- It was Sunday, so the Duomo and other religious attractions were closed to tourists and the city was less crowded and more pleasant than earlier in the holiday. We walked across the Old Bridge and up the steps to Michelangelo Square: Wikitravel said that the view of the city was the best and it was right. An exhausting climb though as it was very hot once down out of the Chianti Mountains, so ice creams were in order. Then we walked back down and went to see the Basilica of Santa Croce and its associated museums. It is the principal Franciscan church in the city and thus lacks the overdone decoration of other Catholic churches. Amongst others, Galileo and Rossini are buried there. After that, we walked back across the city, taking more pictures of buildings better lit by the late afternoon light than previously.
- Unknown to us, there's a limit on international ATM withdrawals to one per day, and we found that we were in danger of becoming proper Interrailers again unless some careful fund management was done! So pizzas, salad, beer, wine were ordered in modest quantity at a restaurant in a restful square near the station: our second discovery of less busy places in Florence, making us feel a bit guilty about our earlier judgements about the place.
- The start of our holiday required compromise regarding our rail accommodation from Paris to Rome; and compromise, as Signora Stracciatella said, rewarded us for the journey back to Paris. We were anticipating the same on the way back, but in fact got what we had asked for: a double sleeper compartment with comfy beds, fluffy pillows and breakfast-in-bed the next morning. Nice.
- We got back home around 3pm.
