Toscana: Part 1

On my map of Italy, Florence is a rather long way away from Palermo, so I was curious about the trip there, however the answers I received were often vague. How long is the trip? Long! How much time will we be in the car? Practically ALL DAY! What time are we leaving? EARLY!! Now, I've done my share of long drives, so the thought of being in a car all day doesn't phase me too much, but I was starting to get a little nervous; maybe this was "early" like how my dad means - on the road before five. My host parents didn't wake me up until after 7, though, and it took us nearly an hour to pack the car, so we weren't on the road until after 10 - not quite the early start I had imagined.

We drove for a little over 2 hours before taking the ferry across to the mainland. The strait isn't actually very wide, and the ride was about 20 minutes. I'll save you from a play by play of the next 10 hours - it was just a lot of driving, randomly pulling over for coffee or gas. We packed sandwichs for lunch and dinner, and they were amazing despite the simple ingredients - one being a frittata and prosciutto (recipe: make frittata using one egg, seasoned with salt and pepper, put in sandwich with slice of prosciutto), the other a boiled egg (recipe: hard boil egg, peel, slice, put in sandwich). Ok, maybe I'm just weird and like eggs. And bread.

Ferry to take us to the mainland.

Approaching Calabria.

We arrived in Florence pretty late that night. My host sister and I sated with her dad and grandmother, while my host parents stayed with my host sister's other grandmother. This was fabulous because it meant I could spend the morning out walking around the city, or searching for random parks, or going to a museum, then come back to a delicious, hot lunch made by one of my Italian grandmothers. The first few days I spent wandering around the city with my host sister finding the last of our Christmas gifts and seeing a bit of the city. It had snowed a few days before we arrived, and there was still some traces left behind, which I loved.

Ok, a few notes about Florence. It is smaller than Palermo, and most historic sights are within easy walking distance from each other, and from where we were staying. It's centre is very pedestrian friendly, as there is limited traffic allowed in. (Some taxis are allowed, though, and the drivers look very angry when the large groups of people block their way.) Florence was the birthplace of the European Renaissance and so the art, and architecture reflect this. It is a very desirable city for tourism purposes - during the tourist season outsiders outnumber the native population! It was not unusual to see signs posted in multiple languages, and many store workers spoke English (and I guess I don't look very Italian as the street vendors always called out to me in English). Now for some of the sights:

First up: The Cathedral.

I was actually speechless when I turned the corner to see this. Construction started in 1296, and its dome is the largest made out of brick in the world. The square also includes the bell tower and baptistery, all three made from white, green, and pink marble. Each are also incredibly detailed. It's just amazing. I really can't describe how amazing it is. Inside are more paintings, sculptures and stonework. Ok, I'll just show the pictures. Sorry about the poor quality, I do what I can.

The Baptistery.

Bell Tower

The inside of the dome.

Details above the door. Um. Wow.

After seeing the cathedral we went to the market downtown. I don't have any photos, however, sorry. It's a small maze of vendors selling purses, scarves, figurines, souvenirs, and many leather items. Then we headed over to Nonna Lisa's house for lunch. Yum. Pasta. (What? No I didn't gain weight over the holidays, why do you ask? Well, maybe a little... Not my fault! I'm blaming my Italian grandmothers' liberal use of olive oil and high fat meat. And multi course meals. And rich desserts. And it had nothing to do with the seconds I took of everything.) Random food note: bread is usually unsalted in Toscana. And I'm not sure if this is related or not, but its texture is completely different. It's a nice change, and is really nice when it's topped with something salty, but I prefer salted bread when eating it plain.

Ok, I've covered the first two days here, expect quite a few more posts to come!