Under cloudy Tuscan skies

[rthstewart]

It's packed here and in a few hours we will attempt to make our way back to Rome, very worried about our tight connection through Charles de Gaulle tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes. It's funny, but 24 years ago, I found Rome scary and overwhelming and Florence beautiful and charming. We loved Rome this trip and our day trip into Tuscany was wonderful, but Florence was not as it was.  The years have been good to Rome and less kind to Florence, I think.

	Symbol of Contrada della Selva, Siena More information about this Contrada and its Pailo victories is here.
	Giotto's Tower, Firenze I have the identical picture at home, but taken 24 years ago from the third level up the belltower in Florence. Indiana Jones isn't quite right -- it's the years and the miles
	Pisa Go climb a tower (we did!)

Comments

[jenett]

I so miss Tuscany.

(Spent six weeks near Siena working on an archaeological dig in college, and it was totally awesome. Seeing the Palio is also totally fascinating.)

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

I fell in love with Siena and the Palio when I read Marguerite Henry's book, Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio, in elementary school. 23 years ago when we first came to Europe I dragged my husband to Siena just to see it. It was lovely. It was as lovely yesterday. The lustre of Florence isn't what it was for me, but if anything, Siena was more wonderful. We had a short, 2 hour tour of the city and it was terrific. We went to a gift shop where the owner only want to sell me things from his contrada, Valdimontone (the Ram), and refused to sell anything from Nicchio (seashell). He had a big X through it on a map.

[jenett]

Oh, that's lovely to hear. (And I agree on the charms of Siena: it's such a very walkable city, and shaped and sized so you can get a very real sense of the entireity of it - something I've always struggled with in Florence.

(Well, values of 'always' that involve two days there, a few years apart.)

I still can't get the memory of the tall waves of glowing golden grass, and crisp blue summer sky, and the cypresses out of my head. (For people who've seen the flashback scenes in _Gladiator_, when the protagonist is thinking of his home, it looks just like that.)

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Gladiator is exactly the image, with the hand over the grasses. It's so beautiful.

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. I wish I could be in Europe!

[autumnia]

I'd rather be under cloudy Tuscan skies than to be sitting at my desk surrounded by drab cubicle walls. You can't go wrong with ancient buildings and wonderful architecture.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

And FOOD. OMG the FOOD.

[adaese.livejournal.com]

I went to Rome & to Florence (separate trips) on school trips 26 & 27 years ago respectively. I agree, I'd have said then that Florence was better. I'm sorry to hear it's gone downhill.

Really must drag Wellinghall out there one of these years. Trouble is, it's so much fun heading North instead - and much easier on my (sunburn in Scotland in April) fair skin.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, those English skin tones. We have plenty of that in our household as well (and my crazy SIL who goes absolutely well, crazy, when you still can tan through 80 SPF sunblock). I'm still not sure what about Florence didn't hit me right. I loved all the art the last time we were there, and I remember being just amazed by the Academia and the Tribune of David. They had blocks of unfinished marble lining the walls as you walked toward the statue so you really got the sense of the shape in the stone struggling to come out. Now, it's just lots and lots of religious art and DAVID in the middle of the room and ZILLIONS of Americans and students. The belltower did not have chicken wire up around it. I suppose a part of it is that in Rome I expected crowds. I did not expect such insanity in Florence. The shops were something else too, Tiffany, Gucci, Ferragamo, Dior, etc. etc. Plus things like Sephora cosmetics and Timberland and H&M. It was all very unsettling.

[cofax7]

I have that picture from the bell tower in Florence! Except I was wearing Tevas.

Sounds like (despite the noise) your trip has been a success! Brava!

[adaese.livejournal.com]

You two are braver than I am. I don't think we went up the bell tower, but if we had, there is no way anyone could have got me to stand on that grid. How long is the drop?

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

It is 414 steps and I think that landing was about 2/3 of the way up. Wiki says it's 84.7 meters. When I was standing on the grate, some rational part of me thought, wait, I did this 23+ years ago, WHAT WAS I THINKING? Then, I did it anyway. I was wearing sneakers then. Now, I had nifty Clark walking shoes -- it was too cold for TEVAs!

[linneasr.livejournal.com]

Aaaahhhh, Toscana. :)

Bonne chance avec Charles.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Bellisimo!

[harmony-lover.livejournal.com]

Such beautiful pictures! My mother is about to go to Italy for six weeks, including Florence, and she's just thrilled about it. It was one of the places she didn't go as a teenager or in college, so this trip has been a long time coming for her.

Your picture of the grid reminds me of the top of St. Paul's - it's the only analogy I have, never having been to Italy. St. Paul's has 409 steps, I think, and the last few dozen are quite scary, wrought iron spindly things. SO worth it, though - I will never forget that view from the top. London everywhere. :)