FLORENCE/FIRENZE--THE CITY OF LILIES

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Port of Livorno, Italy

Aboard the Enchanted Princess

Sunny/ 70F

What a rocky night! TK said we must have gone through a storm, but now the weather is calm and off we go to Florence, delivered by a Princess bus.  We elected to explore this historic city on our own, the capital of the Tuscany region and considered by many to be the birthplace of the Renaissance.  Every building exudes history, block by block. Narrow cobblestone streets, churches every 2 or 3 blocks (it seems), a variety of cafes, fine restaurants, leather factories and shops, fine jewelry, fashionable clothing, gelato, pizza, a wonderful mix of smells and beauty.

This is a view of the Cathedral of Florence from a hill--we had to take photos from the bus 

David by Michelangelo -- copy/same size

Original created 1501-1504 of Carrera marble

The statue was moved to Galleria dell'Academia in Florence in 1873

We have seen the original

We traveled about an hour and a half while the the bus operator pointed out the vineyards of Tuscany, the Carerra marble mines (looks like snow on the mountain top), and umbrella-like pine trees, and told us bruschetta was really pronounced brusKetta.  Our drop off point was a 15 minute walk from the center city. From there was a short walk to the Ponte Vecchio, a must see on a visit to Florence. Built in 1345 it crosses the Arno River.  In 1565 a decree was made that only goldsmiths and jewelers could have shops on the bridge. That is all right with me—so much gold!!

You can see the back of the shops

Janie

On the bridge

Oh yeah! Just one shop on the bridge

So many choices!

Wider view-so many goldsmiths!

Looking back toward Florence from the bridge

A bridge down from the River Arno

We wanted to visit the food market because I had fresh olive oil on my mind. We have been to Florence many times and visited museums and churches. That said, now we especially like to enjoy a coffee and a croissant at a little café and watching the hectic pace of a city full of tourists and native Italians hustle around.

The market did not disappoint, the smells of fish and fresh meat, mixed with citrus and pizza and wines. And the colors of orange, red, yellow, oranges, apples, peppers, every fruit and vegetable imaginable. Vendors with limoncello, candies, and tins or bottles of olive oil. Finally we found the olive oil we wanted (fresh, extra virgin, light).

Inside the food market

Inside the Food Market-- bottles of olive oil!

Vendor on the street

We moved to the outside vendors with leather goods, bags, coats, belts, pashminas, Florentine stationery, souvenirs, and so much more. The rest of our time was spent strolling along the different streets, admiring the beauty of a city that counts its origins back to the Romans in 59 BCE.

Leather purses

Love these men's shirts!

Toy Shop

Close up of cars, priced from about $23-$40

Old Masters art and Florentine Art painted on wood

Which boots should I bring home?

Pastry shop 

Carriage ride, anyone?

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

Seen from afar--top of this blog

Another view of Santa Maria del Fiore

From atop the hill

Clock tower seen from all points

Our final mission was finding the Caffe Condotta, on the corner of Via della Condotta and Vicola Dei Cerchi.  We don’t want to forget where this café is because it has the best sfogliatella—the pastry I fell in love with last year. With no shame, I ate 3 and TK ate 2. (Note: the first 2 we ate at a different café—and my friend Ann said I could eat as many as I wanted with the number of steps we are walking!)

We found Caffe Condotta, first discovered last  year

Corner of Via della Condotta and Vicola Dei Cerchi

Heavenly sfogliatelle (mine was cream filled-sweetened ricotta cheese

We were exhausted when we returned to the ship and went straight to the dining room.  To tell the truth, we both fell right asleep when we returned to our stateroom. I guess we are getting older.

 My FitBit says 16,550 steps today--TK has 16,025--our feet and legs agree with those numbers.

TK’s Takes: There was lots of traffic on the highway as we traveled to and from Florence. Another thing he said was that he would not want to drive an Erie sized firetruck in any of the cities with all the narrow streets. Firetrucks in Europe are much smaller. He also saw a Mercedes pickup truck but did not get a photo to his disappointment.

[Reminder: I need to add a disclaimer that this blog is only a draft, mostly done after 9 hours of touring on this particular cruise and lots of walking. I write for a couple of reasons, to remember all the wonderful things we see and do, to let family and friends know what we are doing, and to provide a bedtime story for those who need a way to fall asleep.]

 

FLORENCE, FIRENZE, WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE!

Livorno, Italy
Aboard Regal Princess
Stateroom C512
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Sunny, 70F

 So many moving parts! First, we had to take a shuttle from the ship to midtown Livorno (5 euro each, round trip) after arriving in port, then board our prescheduled bus ($33 each) for a ride to Florence, an hour and a half ride.  The bus drop off was the worst ever, it was a half hour walk to the old city of Florence and there was no easy way to tell where we were-landmarks, street signs. The "guide" told us there was no where to drop off passengers in the old city. This would be our pickup area too. Yikes! Thank goodness for the old firefighter—he is very good at directions!

Coffee was our first stop, amongst the pigeons.  The man at the next table said some very bad words in English when his wife did not shoo away the pigeons that landed on the table when he went to pay the bill.  He probably thought no one else spoke English. That was funny to us.

Cafe Scudieri

TK 

Janie

The Cattedral di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower) was a short walk from the café.  There are churches everywhere, but this is the most famous.

Baptistery with Cathedral and Duomo behind

Closeup of cathedral

 One set of doors was designed by Andrea Pisano between 1424-1452. The door panels depict the 3 theological virtues (hope, faith, charity), the five cardinal virtues (humility, fortitude, temperance, justice, prudence), as well as scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. Next week when we return I will take photos of the Ghiberti doors, known as the Gates of Paradise.

Pisano doors

Detail

 We continued walking through markets (meat, leather, etc.), the narrow streets filled with people and Vespas, and onto the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge built in 1345, over the Arno River. Soon after the bridge was built, the local government began renting shop space on the bridge, where mostly foodstuffs, such as meat and fish were sold. However, the stench became overwhelming and the shops were converted to mostly goldsmiths and jewelers in the late 16th century. It took them 150 years to smell the stench?? There are only jewelry shops there still today.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River

 

So many jewelry shops!!

Markets and shops are everywhere--this is another very metropolitan city. 

Cooler with meat/Market

Breads/Market

Wonderful vegetables. Look closely at the spiny green things at the bottom right.

The young vendor called them bitter melons in English.

What the heck is that and who wold eat it??

Dried fruit

Charcuterie

Soups and sauces served in the market

Another market

There are so many people and languages and motorbikes of all sizes as well as scooters. People walk in the uneven streets and the uneven narrow sidewalks, and one never knows when a bike, motorbike, scooter, car, small bus, or other mode of transportation will be speeding by.  No one seems to know which is sidewalk and which is street either. We were amazed at what seemed like a very dangerous situation to us!!

Random streets--people everywhere, which is the street, which is the sidewalk??

TK wanted to try pizza at a self-serve place—one orders and takes the pizza to a table. He tried a pizza slice with mozzarella and thinly sliced ham, and I had a slice with pepperoni and mozzarella. It was tasty, the pepperoni strong and spicy. The ham was very good.

Piccadilly Bar and Pizza

Pizza in Italy! 

Too soon it was time to meet our bus, so we grabbed a quick gelato (fruits of the forest) along the way.  Great! There is no place but Italy to buy gelato. America, France, not even close.

 It was dark when we arrived at the ship and we headed for dinner—goat cheese souffle and beef medallions for me—very good. TK had Cornish hen. Culinary delight today was sugar free coconut cake.

Sugarfree coconut cake

We are both looking forward to two sea days so we can get into the rhythm of the ship and sea!! 

P.S. Election Day! We already voted in the U.S. election!

Aside to Friend MJ: Happy Birthday!!

TK’s Takes:  There are thousands of pigeons everywhere and he has seen only two flies since we started in Barcelona.

TK: 14,500 steps

Janie:  15,500 steps