Florence

On to Florence this morning.  Franca took me to Milano Centrale.  Up two escalators and found the track easily.  Trains are so easy to use in Europe.  The trip took only an hour and a half.  After Bologna, it was through tunnels all the way, surfacing just long enough to see the low, dark mountains we were traveling through.

The little family-run hotel, Il Bargellino, was an easy walk from the train station at one end of the via Guelfa.  This is a great value.  My room is comfortable and large and has its own bath.  I am finding many uses for a bidet!  Excellent for shaving legs.  Not bad for doing hand wash!  Towels are thin woven cotton - not much to dry with.  Another of those interesting differences.

There is a lot less waste here.  The tankless hot water heaters are much more efficient.  Coffee is better and served in savoring amounts rather than our huge portions.  What is it in our culture that needs things super-sized to feel satisfied?

There is a small trattoria down the block with good food.  For lunch I had a risotto with vegetables, a cabernet and espresso.  Alors, they brought a digesif and almond biscotti.

This afternoon I walked to the Church of San Marco with its wonderful Fra Angelico frescos - so bright and fresh.  Maria so blonde and wispy, the Christ Child so lumpy with baby fat and so out-of-sorts.  I went upstairs to see the cells, each with its shuttered window and its fresco for contemplation.  The cells were cozy.  The frescos on one side of the building all had arched tops.  Those on another side were rectangular with painted borders.  There was a suite of rooms for Savonarola and for Cosimo de Medici.

I came upon the Duomo by surprise at the end of a street.  The Baptistery is small, octagonal, charming with big shiny gold doors.  Inside, the Duomo is disappointing, very dark and cold - the one in Milan is much more beautiful.  The domed painting over the altar is very beautiful though.  The old church in the cellar is kind of a yawn.

I happened on what is said to be Florence's "most beautiful piazza," Santissimo Annunziata.  There is a lot of scaffolding up right now, but Ferdinand I is astride his horse, gazing at his beloveds' bedroom.  This must be much better in summer and sunshine with real lovers all around.

Found the Accademia in an ugly, squat building.  David is amazing, but trite too - seen in too many pictures.  If I gaze on his face from his right side, he looks self-confident, but look from his left side and I see the fear in his eyes.  He is just a boy.  The Prisoners are interesting: you see Michelangelo wresting the figures from the stone front to back and almost believe in his description of uncovering them rather than carving them.  One or two looked as if there wasn't enough marble left for the heads.

Take-out panini, fruit tart, and peach juice to take back to Il Bargellino for supper.  Exhausted and feet hurting.  I took time to organize and repack.  Charged Ipod, phone, Kindle.