Tuscan Rivals…for My Affections

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday sight-seeing around Florence and enjoyed myself more than I expected. I don’t think I’ll ever “fall in love” with Florence the way some people seem to, but it’s not you, Florence, it’s me. I just don’t feel that spark. We can still be friends, though!

Anyway, on Tuesday, I waited in a ridiculously long line to see the really boring interior of the Duomo. I had planned to join a free walking tour (you tip the guide at the end rather than pay a flat fee) after that, but the line took too long and I missed the tour. So I improvised and grabbed lunch at the Central Market which is full of fruit and veggie stands as well as butchers and bakery stands. I had possibly the best ravioli I’ve ever had – it was stuffed with ricotta and spinach and topped with the tastiest parmesan cheese known to man. And it was 5 euro! While I waited for the little food stand to cook my ravioli, I picked up some pretty colored pasta (which I just had for dinner tonight and it was pretty good!) and some flowers for my apartment, since I’m staying in one place long enough to enjoy them. I then spent a few hours at the Uffizzi Gallery, which was a few hours too many. It’s one of “the” spots in Florence, but I just don’t appreciate Renaissance art enough for that museum.

That evening, I took a cooking class! It’s no secret that I’m an ambivalent cook at best, but I really enjoyed the class, which was through Accidental Tourist. It was a small group of 8, all Americans – me, a family of 3 with an 8 year old, and then a couple in their 50s visiting their son and his girlfriend who were spending a semester abroad in Florence. I like these kinds of tours because it’s fun to get to know the people on the tour and do something interesting at the same time. We learned how to make pasta from scratch (ravioli and tagliatelle), drank a lot of wine, and enjoyed the fruits of our labor. The class took place in a Tuscan farmhouse that had been in the owner’s family for 6 generations. Pretty cool.

One of the biggest sights in Florence is Michelangelo’s David. I really enjoyed the one art history class I took in college, but beyond that, my knowledge of art is fairly limited, so I could not understand the big fuss about one little statue. The lines are insane; I had to buy skip-the-line tickets or I’d still be standing there waiting to get in! But even my uncultured self was impressed with David once I got in there. The level of detail is so impressive and he looks like he could just walk right off the pedestal. Michelangelo had a gift.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the Oltrarno neighborhood, a more working-class neighborhood than the touristy center of town. On the recommendation of a couple friends, I enjoyed the views from Piazzale Michelangelo as well as the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace (which was hideously ornate). And then, kudos to me, I got all my pictures uploaded to Facebook AND captioned, so I was caught up for all of about 6 hours.

Today, I did fall in love…with Siena. It’s a hill town in Tuscany, about 70 miles south of Florence, and the two cities were major rivals back in their heydays. After a frantic search for the well-hidden bus station (it’s underneath the train station and around the back!!), I took a 75 minute bus ride to Siena this morning. Italian buses, like Italian trains, are nice – wifi, in-seat USB ports for charging, comfy seats. It was a nice and easy journey, and I enjoyed the view of the rolling Tuscan hills without having to watch the road while driving.

Siena is everything I expected Florence to be – gorgeous old buildings with brick arches everywhere (I adore stone archways); a very pretty Duomo and cool city center; and A TON of art galleries. I’m rather sorry I chose to stay in Florence for a week rather than Siena, as I know people often do the reverse of what I did: stay in Siena and daytrip to Florence. The town was not nearly as crowded as Florence either, and the crowds haven’t even started in earnest (though I’m about done with school groups, holy cow. they are everywhere).

In the city center, there’s the Il Campo, which is basically a huge town square or piazza. Every year in the summer, they have a horse race called the Il Palio de Siena, and 10 of the 17 neighborhoods, or contrade, have a representative horse in the race. The horses race around the Il Campo and it’s supposed to be quite the crazy time. Siena also has a Duomo like Florence, which they built with the intention of outshining their rival, but the bubonic plague hit and they lost the funding, will, manpower, and blessing from God to outdo Florence. It’s still 10x prettier on the inside than Florence’s Duomo. I took a really cool tour of the Duomo that allowed you out on the passageways at the top for some great views.

Gelato Update: 17 scoops
lemon – 6, mango – 1, strawberry – 1, caramel cream – 2, dark chocolate – 2, chocolate – 2, chocolate chip – 1; black cherry – 2