Europe (Part VIII): Pisa

11 August 2014 (PART II)

The flight to Firenze was wonderful: we left a few minutes early and quickly ascended into the air. Within a few moments, we were souring over the countryside of France and the Alps were off into the distance. After about an hour in the air, we had reached the edge of the mountains and I watched as they grew from hills into tall peaks into snow-covered summits. Even from an airplane, the Swiss Alps were breathtaking. I spend a good deal of the remainder of the flight watching the mountains pass underneath us. When you fly over something so grand, you cannot help but feel a great contradiction in your head: how does something so massive look so small out such a tiny window? I felt ginormous as the plane took leaps over the snow-peaked mountains. We passed Jungfrau, Celebdil, Caradhras, and Fanuidhol. And then the plane began the long descent. After just two hours, the wheels of the air taxi touched down in a new country - my country; Benvenuti in Italia! The airport in Firenze is quite small, too. So we climbed out of the plane and down stairs onto the runway itself. It was my first time landing in an airport that did not have a terminal gate for us to uscita. We took a shuttle to the baggage claim and waited for our luggage. I was quite excited at this point: my first breath of aria italiana had been taken and it was rich and reminded me of home.

My taxi ride from the airport to Hotel Lorena took no more than cinque minuti. The driver whizzed through traffic and narrowly avoided pedestrians as they ignorantly walked down the middle of the road. When I arrived at Hotel Lorena, the receptionist spoke little English. It was quite a challenge to understand him when he instructed me on certain prolegomena on my stay in Firenze. All I could do was say, "yes, yes, yes" to all of his broken English ramblings. I find it amusing how non-native English speakers use certain words; for example, when I said hello, he responded with "you're welcome."

Anyway, the view from my hotel room window was spectacular. I absolutely fell in love with Firenze once I put my bags down looked around. The hotel sits in a side street with many cafés and places to order a glass of wine. So, as I looked one way, I saw a man playing the accordion for the people sitting at a restaurant. As I looked the other way, right outside of my window: the Medici chapels. I was staying in the shadow of history's wealthiest family's personal chapels and resting places. Looming over the roof of the chapels and in great view from where I was staying was Le Duomo, the greatest construction of the Renaissance, the dome of Brunelleschi, The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower. Oh my goodness. I’m such a little boy in a candy shoppe.

Quant’é bella giovinezza

Che si fugge tuttavia

Chi vuol esser lieto sia;

Di doman non c’é certezza

So what did I do for tonight? What better than a walk to Le Duomo and some gelato. And that's just what I did. I had pistachio e cioccolato gelato and sat on the steps of Le Duomo. This night ends in such a fashion; although it was simple, it was the best night I have had yet. Firenze é la mia casa lontano da casa. Buonanotte Italia, io sono giá innamorato di te.

12 August 2014

I rolled out of bed and took a shower in the family-style bathroom (one bathroom per floor) and dropped my key off at the reception quite all in a rush so that I could take in as much of Firenze as I could. The streets were already bustling and the sun was warmly beating down upon the orange and yellow rooftops. I knew already that shade would be a necessity for the day. Well, I headed over to the Firenze market, the Mercato Centrale, an old building that has been used as the city's food court and forum for centuries. Within the market, I got myself some breakfast: a salato e café – essentially a panini and espresso.

I had no agenda for the day, so I merrily wandered about the mercato, seeing things such as butchers, fishermen, and vintners. Just outside of the food market was an outdoor market. Now, being in Tuscany, Firenze is known for its leather, both of lamb and cow. Every other stand was selling something made of leather. The other stands were selling tourist items, shirts, dresses, purses, and so forth. I found myself a very nice lambskin wallet, made in Firenze. The wallet is very soft and malleable and has the most interesting design; it’s L-shaped (I really like getting a new wallet…). I also found myself a leather journal and leather bracelets. The vendors were kind and spoke broken English – much better than the English of the concierge at Hotel Lorena. Once I'd spent more than I had wanted, I walked the few steps it took over to Le Duomo and jumped into the queue. It was free to enter, which brought much delight to my new wallet.

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is very plain inside. The walls have no gothic nor romantic engraving or design. They are gray and without embellishment. The Doric columns are smooth and featureless; the floor is granite and has a simple pattern of grays and browns. The altar is simple, too, with golden accentuation around the pulpit and ambo. With such a plain nave, I wondered what all the hubbub was all about. Then I noticed the dome.

Le Duomo is the largest freestanding dome in the world. No one knows how Brunelleschi came to achieve such a feat. How did a man with only Renaissance-aged tools construct something that we cannot reproduce today? Unlike the rest of the interior, the dome is painted with frescos all around. The words and halos are painted with gold and the color is rich and lively. Le Duomo extends beyond the cathedral itself and reaches towards Heaven. And without supporting arches and columns, the dome stands alone, mighty and grand. The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower is a mammoth cathedral and probably the most known building of Firenze. The building is in the shape of a cross, like most cathedrals in Europe. The exterior is much unlike the interior in that it is colourful and romantic. Having seen the dome from the within and mightiness of the cathedral in respect to the buildings surrounding the square, I was quite pleased with my choice to visit Firenze, its sole purpose being that of visiting Le Duomo.

I strolled around the Medici chapels and the Medici gardens before heading the few hundred metres south to the Arno. I crossed over the river on a bridge lined with jewelry shoppes and cafés. Everything about Firenze is quite lovely; I cannot emphasize this enough. On the southern side of the Arno, I walked up and down the shore, taking in the beauty of the uniformity of all the orange-roofed houses and shoppes of the city, if it could be called a city and not just a town. On this walk, I realized that I had been seeing faucets all along my day's journey through Firenze. The Italians are very community-oriented and, as a complete opposite of England (for you cannot find a faucet anywhere), have water for drinking everywhere! The water flows continually and anyone can just walk up, cup their hands, and drink straight from the "fountain." All of us just walk up and share in the water, taking turns getting our fill, like the people at the well in the time of Jesus. The fear of contamination and bacteria must be subdued if you are to visit Italia.

After my quiet stroll along the beautiful river and through the town center, I headed back to the hotel to drop off my things. From here, I walked up to the Accademia di Belle Arti, where Michelangelo's David stands proudly for all to gaze upon his naked and perfect body. The fee to enter the Accademia was a bit steep but worth it, along with the hour-long wait in line. Among other things, there were many of Michelangelo's works, a plethora of old Italian frescos and golden crucifixes and stone carvings. There even was a long hall with the countless busts and sculptures that Michelangelo completed in his lifetime. All of this was nice, but David was the most beautiful and famous work within the museum. As you approach the 17ft. tall man, you walk passed six of his first copies, uncompleted in frustration. The seventh and finalized David is perfect. I do not like to think of art as perfect, always having some human element; but David is flawless. His body is smooth and attractive and relatively rational. The only “flaw” I could consider is his disproportionately large right hand. If ever you visit Italy, make a stop in Firenze to see David in all of his grandeur.

On my way back to the hotel from the Accademia, I got yet another nutella crêpe and an Americano from a nameless corner café. I sat down in the antico e magnifico Medici gardens while I sipped my Americano and nibbled away the crêpe. I sat here for a good two hours, just watching the clouds drift by, and taking deep breaths of the rich Italian air; Italia will be something I truly long for when my time here is done...

The little place just below my window at Hotel Lorena was called Antica Sosta delgi Aldobrandini, and when I got back to my room it was happy hour; there was also a discount for students! Thus, I sat down, ate endless bruschetta and had two glasses of Chianti. I was having Tuscan wine in Tuscany. Chianti is a smooth and velvety red wine that sits quite softly on your tongue, leaving a delicate but full-bodied taste in your mouth. Un buon vino, un buon uome e una bella donna dura poco. Chianti in Tuscany... After the wine was drunk and the bruschetta was gone, I walked back to Le Duomo and journaled into the night. Italia is a lovely place; I was content and inspired and nothing could be better than right here, right now.

13 August 2014

Somewhat lacking enough sleep, I fell asleep in bed with the lights on and my contacts still in last night. I am enjoying myself too much. Once I hauled myself out of bed, breakfast was served in the hotel lobby. I had two cappuccinos, a glass of orange juice, a croissant with Nutella, cereal, and Italian yogurt. Once my breakfast was downed, I checked out of the hotel and walked about two blocks to the train station. After a the usual frustration of booking a train with someone that does not speak the same language, I boarded a train from Firenze to Pisa. The ride took about an hour; once I arrived, I dropped off my bags at the station baggage hold and set to the streets. Pisa is a lot smaller than Firenze, so it wasn't too difficult to get around. I took the main road north about half a mile until I got to the road on which the Pisa tower leans.

You cannot see the leaning tower of Pisa until you reach this road. Because the streets are so narrow, it is hard to see anything but clouds above the rooftops of the buildings that line the brick streets on which you walk. But as soon as you round the corner, there looms the tower in all of its leaning glory. I walked around the tower and took a lot of pictures of it; even had a local take a picture of me "leaning on it" in the typical tourist fashion. There was a museo for the tower, but I did not feel like spending €10 to learn more about the terrible architectural plan to build on a loose foundation.

Well, there was the tower. It does lean quite a bit, and whether or not it is just your mind tricking you, it seems to sway when you stand directly under it. After I had walked around it once or twice, I headed back to the station. I stopped on my way back for a doppio espresso at Bar Centrale. Most of the names here are quite original: “Bar Central,” “Restaurant on 8th Street,” or “Pizza”... I finished my espresso expressly and strolled back to the station, pausing as I passed over the Arno for one last look at the great river that flowed through Firenze.

I jumped back on the train after claiming my bags and took off from Pisa at 1504. This train was to take me to Roma. It was a three hour ride through Tuscany and along to Mediterranean coast. The scenery was very exceptional; on one side I saw the blue waters of the sea breaking into white crests as waves crashed along the Italian shore. On the other side, hills and mountains and vineyards and red clay roofs dotted the landscape. A train ride through Tuscany is like no other. And the train in which I road was much like the one in Harry Potter: six-person cabins within each carriage. I sat in one with four Italian teenagers that were probably going home or on holiday. Obviously three of them were brother and sisters. The fourth was probably a good friend. The whole ride they chatted and laughed in Italian. Yes, I realize that laughing in Italian is the same as laughing in English.

I spent the time watching the landscape pass by the train, or rather the train pass through the landscape. I also journaled and read more of my book. After the three-hour train ride came to an end, I had arrived in Roma. I had quite the scare when I arrived, because I did not have wifi and accidentally deleted the address of the hotel in which I was staying. Not speaking Italian, and having no idea where my hotel was located, I had to trust that the taxi driver would know where my bed was waiting for me. Luckily enough, the driver plugged in Hotel Duca d'Alba into his GPS and the coordinates popped up, quite close to the station. A five-minute ride later, I was at the front door to the hotel. Check in was quick and easy and I was breathing a sigh of relief from my hotel room in no time.

Roma. I am in Roma. I can practically see the Colosseo from my window. The hotel sits on the edge of Ancient Roma, where the Colosseo, Foro Romano, e Palatino have sat for hundreds upon hundreds of years. I decided to walk from the hotel to the Colosseo first thing. I approached the great circular battlefield walking down the same road that Caesar followed when he attended the gladiator matches. It was quite amazing to think of the history that lay in the columns that ran under my fingers as I walked its borders.

At this point my stomach started to scream at me. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and I had walked many kilometres this day. I stopped in a little ristorante that was called Brick's and had spaghetti e pesto and some more espresso. Mmm. That was so good. Well, I was happy, my stomach was happy, and the day was drawing to a close. I went back to my room and planned what tomorrow would bring, for Eterna Roma has plenty to offer. Buonanotte per ora.