Above the Arno

Florence, Italy: Day 3. What have we missed?

Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo. Tell that person she's blocking my view!

Our Uffizi visit was timed for the afternoon, so we had a few hours to fill in beforehand.  

Across the Arno on the south side of the city, a lovely drive winds its way under a canopy of leafy trees, past pretty villas and through olive groves to the panoramic terrace, Piazzale Michelangelo.  It is possible to walk it, but we took the bus instead.  The view is pleasant and a tad closer than Fiesole, so it's easy to make out the old city limits.  But it is quite busy. 

For some reason, a rather gauche statue of David (copy #2) with the allegorical figures from the Medici tombs (San Lorenzo and also copies) at his feet, takes centre stage.  Dotted over the terrace also, were some less than inspiring modern sculptures.   In a city resplendent with good taste & art, this was just a bit too “show pony”.  Or are we just becoming too old & grumpy?

View over the city and the Ponte Vecchio

A dormant Iris Garden lay below the terrace – May is the time to be in Florence if you want to see an international collection of blooms befitting the city’s floral symbol.  From here, we made our way up to San Salvatore al Monte.  It’s a tiny and somewhat plain church after all of Florence’s wealth and exuberance.  I’m sure it has a history but none of my books explains it, however our touristico-ing bus talk-fest told us that Michelangelo favoured it for its simplicity.

Wood carving (perhaps) in San Salvatore

San Miniato al Monte

After San Salvatore’s sparseness, San Miniato al Monte seemed like a dream.  It was built in 1018 over the shrine of St Minias, who was beheaded for his faith (3^rd c BC).  Holy relics were the drawcards of their time so the powerful Wool Importers Guild financed this Romanesque wonder.  Again, photos show far more than we could describe… here’s another generous serve then!!

Sinners beware!  San Miniato fresco

Interior San Miniato

Back down into the inner maze of Florence's streets, we put on our best museum/art gallery hats and headed off to the Uffzi.  That visit was sufficiently covered in the previous (large) post.  What, you want more?  No time, there's a train to catch...

Following our Uffizi visit, we had no time to linger…sadly.  It was late and we had to be back in Le Grazie by 8pm at the latest, or starve.  We made it to squeeze through the supermarket doors in the nick of time.  Then of course, it was back to the boat.  But not quite as easy as it sounds!  Let me set the scene.  Early evening is the start of passegiata, a wonderful time (and cooler temperature) of the day to walk about the town dock in your best gear and meet friends for drinks or a chat.  Some come to the dock to take photos, girlfriends pose or a new bike, boat, or scooter is shown to best advantage.  Now, we’d left WJ3 locked and lights on.  For added security, we had even tied Bruce to the stern – it was important to look as if we were home

Florence Graffiti - with a swimming theme. Was it a sign of  things to come?

Venus is swimming too!

And a Medici....

So, the Cap’n had to swim.  In the midst of fashionable passegiata and even a modelling session underway nearby, our Cap’n striped to his undies, dived into the bay and demonstrating a perfect Australian crawl (freestyle), made it to WJ3.  Dripping wet, he then motored back to collect GS and the groceries – all as if this happens every day.  At the dock, there wasn’t a murmur (even the model didn’t scream at the baggy Bonds!) but we knew that “those crazy visitors” will be spoken of for quite some time to come! 

All was well though; the other woman hadn’t strayed.  So we stayed a few days to recover and revise our exit plan.  Yes, that nasty Mistral was still blowing and we needed to cross to Corsica…

A final Florence reminder or three...

Campanile at night

Medici Lion