Florence Day 4, Boboli Gardens

Sunday 4th October

Florence – Day 4

Yep outside the warm rain is falling gently, softly as everything does in Florence (i.e., warm, soft gentle - except for the ambulance sirens which are without a doubt the loudest & most annoying sound i have ever heard) whilst we tend to our feet after a big day in the streets and Boboli gardens.

“But...” do I hear you say – “why aren’t you in La Spezia with Michael and Karol?” – What is happening? What’s going on?” Well, to cut a long story short, Mary & I thought there was not enough time to get a feel for Florence in just 3 nights (we learnt our lesson - we miss Venice – the 3 nights there was not enough! and the shopping here for bags and shoes is extraordinary) so Mary and I decided to stay an extra night (another change to our itinerary is that Michael and Karol have decided to stay in Siena when we leave for: Salerno, the Amalfi coast and Pompeii, and we will re-meet in Rome).

It has taken me a while to make the merest tiniest scratch on the surface of Florence. Whatever we have seen in London - England, Paris – France, Barcelona – Spain regarding their history and use of boundless wealth accumulated at times when those countries were a world power seem “try hard” when compared to Florence, rebuilt by some of the most powerful families in the world on top of the wealth and beauty deeply imbedded in the people’s psyche from when Rome ruled the world for centuries. Yep. Being a world power definitely gives you a quiet confidence and certainty. Angst is a long way off in Florence – even the beggars have accepted their lot and smile patiently, the street hawkers with their bags and trinkets are polite and respectful – the duomo’s shadow may be huge but it is not dark – more a vaguely sleepy grey tone. And today’s walk through the gardens created by the Medici’s behind the Pitti palace (purchased in 1549) was a dream – almost up there with the magic of Versailles – fawns and weird creatures mix with brilliant modern statues in gardens and trees and hedges which have been clipped into giant high walls since the time it was laid out for the Medicis in 1550 until 1776 when the gardens were made public (the last of the Medici’s left the Medici estate to Florence in the 1770’s for perpetuity).

We started out walk at the bottom of the hill and we slowly made our way up past statues and fountains until we had a 360 degree view over all of Florence – one big “WOW” moment after another but the most stunning thing was that we recognized the buildings and scenes from the paintings we had been looking at from the past 700 years (why change anything when you know what you’ve got is pretty close to perfect). Every step took us to a better place: the Pitti Palace is made from the biggest pieces of rock i have seen so far(the brick layers must have been enormous bigger than David), and the whole structure is absolutely massive and monumental, the columns going up over 6 stories high were carved into rings and squares in the most arrogant display of power through architecture I’ve seen so far (somehow it made me think of the Nazi swastika etc), then there was the grotto filled with copies of Michelangelo’s slaves/captives and various other statues ( Roman copies made in 100 AD after Greek Originals made in 476BC!) , then higher than the palace was Fort Belvedere ( under restoration) or the Kaffeehuas (a beautiful building with dome and balcony, higher again – was a purpose built museum housing porcelain from all over Europe from the 1720 – 1820 with a garden (all through the avenues of tall cedars, conifers were perfectly trimmed little box hedges and roses laid out in the same pattern) and the best view which spanned millennia – amazing. The weather was perfect – warm and soft, clouds threatening rain, the softest breeze – so i turned to Mary and broke to her the news that if someone came up to me right now and offered me a job (leaves sweeper, tree pruner, security guard in the Boboli gardens) i would have no choice but to accept it instantly – Mary understood (but i think secretly her heart is still in Venice). But this does not change my opinion that although there are wonderful moments to be had by the men folk whilst travelling, i reckon women get a lot more out of the journey, connecting at another level with the romance and history and shops.

So finally, an observation or two bout Florence (& Italy) – the atmosphere is relaxed, the people are confident even though: one way roads suddenly reverse direction and become one way roads but in the opposite direction with practically no warning, OH & S is a personal responsibility so take care – especially when going near to the edge of high drops to get a better view or climbing steep stairs with a loose bit of wire serving as a banister, when riding a vespa or bike ignore the fact that cars are bigger or faster, road signs and signals really serve as an indication of the odds that you will reach the other side of the rode without mishap, i.e., a green walking man indicates to the pedestrian that he or she has a 50%(best odds you can get) chance of getting to the other side without some sort of alarm or adrenalin spurt incident and finally Florentine women young and old are taking to bike riding in greater numbers everyday but why do they continue to pedal in their $300 pair of Ferragamo stilettos whilst smoking a cigarette – because they can! And ever second building is either a church or a palace.

So tomorrow we take a train to La Spezia with a four hour or so stopover in Pisa. Then after 2 nights there: Siena for 3 nights then Salerno (Pompeii, etc) for 3 nights, Rome for 5 nights then home via Dubai for 2 nights. With lots more transfers between trains and planes.