| Erin's Florence Journal #3 4-12-02 Friday morning dawned pretty early for me, so when Glenn got up to go check on the hostel next door to see if we could get in, I stayed in bed for a little before showering and getting ready. Luck was with us (as well as Glenn's initiative to get down there early), and we were able to get rooms. Even better, we were able to stay in the same room as each other, as it was a 'family' room. We checked out of our hotel next door, and hurried in to deposit our bags in the storage area for the day until our room was assigned. We had to meet Andres and Sylvia in the train station at 10am, but found that breakfast was still being served at the hostel, and we had about 45 minutes before our deadline. We placed our orders (Glenn was delighted with the prices and the idea of a 'real breakfast' after so many bread or pastry breakfasts), and sat down to wait for them to be cooked. Time ticked away and suddenly it was 10 to 10 and our breakfast had just been served! We started to cram in the food, and were glad to see Shayne walk in. She had been lucky too, and managed to get a space at the hostel as well, and they even assigned her to the same room with us! She agreed to join us for our day trip to Vinci as well, which was great. By the time we made it to the train station, however, we were 20 minutes late to meet Andres and Sylvia, so they weren't at our meeting spot. We ran up to the train station and found them buying tickets, just in time to join them in running for the train. The 5 of us got introduced and chatted about our respective travels on the way to Empoli, then caught a bus to the small town of Vinci, birthplace of Leonardo. I am finally starting to get the hang of my camera, so I spent some time trying to get photos of the gorgeous countryside, but had no luck in the moving bus. We arrived in Vinci, where I promptly got a great shot of a huge bronze horse. We later found out that this horse is famous, as it was commissioned to a sculptor as a fulfillment of one of Leonardo's many equine sketches. Afterward, we walked up a hill to the museums in town, housed in a medieval castle. The countryside was so scenic from the top of the castle wall! I wish pictures could accurately show the grandeur, but the eye is a much better lens, I'm afraid, than any camera! You'd have to be there to truly appreciate it. The Museo dell' Leonardiano had a great display of models built after Leo's drawings. There were even English translations on the explanatory plaques, so once again we could somewhat follow along and know what we were seeing. He had some awesome ideas; the film in the 3rd story tower declaimed he was '500 years ahead of his time.' I believe it! He had bicycles that look modern, a design for a car, some fun things to do with moving boats $ heavy weights, diving gear, etc. And that was just a fraction of his publishings! After the museums, we found a place for lunch and shared 3 of the best pizzas we've had in Italy. The crust was paper thin and so tasty, and the toppings were fresh and flavorful! Yummy! Afterward, we caught the bus back to Empoli to check out one of the other 3 museums our Leo museum ticket allowed us to enter. Shayne was tired from staying up all night to travel from Cinque Terra that morning, so she caught the train home instead for a nap, and the 4 of us headed into Empoli. This seemed like a much more authentic view of Italian life today, as there were stores with real items in them, not just the leather jackets and scarves for tourists we've been finding in Florence. We got some fun shots of the store advertising, too! (See 'For the Boys' link on home page) We finally found the museum in the square with the fountain of lions (see Glenn's journal for the real name). It was so rarely visited (no signs!!!) that the curator turned the lights on for us as we walked in! There was a lot of religious art there, with almost non-stop depictions of 'La Virgin con Bambino.' It has become a joke between Glenn and me, we see so many virgins with babies! But the works are beautiful and stately, and so OLD! Amazing to see these things today, still carrying their mystical quality and beauty. After that, we wandered till we found the train station (the guys have the maps, and they wonder why we girls can't always find our way from instinct?! We're not dogs!!! This isn't Incredible Journey!). We had planned to get a train to the third museum, a stop on the route back to Firenze, but in the confusion of getting a refund at the ticket counter and several trains arriving for Florence within minutes of each other, we hopped onto a non-stop by mistake and ended up in Florence again. We decided it wasn't worth going back, as it was already 6pm and the museum would likely be closed anyway. Glenn and I caught up with Shayne again in our room at the hostel, waking her from her nap. We met up with Sylvia and Andres again at 8pm for dinner, which the 5 of us greatly enjoyed. Then our Columbian friends left us to go pack, as they were off to parts south the next morning. Shayne had met a bartender at a local club on her first stop through Florence, and wanted to go see if he would be at the club again that night, so we walked her there as chaperones, and ended up going in to check it out. We had a couple of drinks and danced for a bit (mostly to 80's hits we knew and loved), but the place was really smoky and we were tired. Glenn and I headed back to the hostel, warning Shayne not to miss the 1am curfew lockout at the hostel. But she ended up walking back herself about 10 minutes after we left, so we were all in bed like good kids by 1am! |
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| Our first trip into the Tuscan countryside was to Vinci, a charming small town with quaint old streets and gorgeous views |
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| Us on the bus! Glenn and Shayne in front, Andres and Sylvia in back Below, the beautiful bronze realization of Leonardo's sketches |