| Erin's Florence Journal #6 4-15-02 Monday is a day when most Italian businesses are shut down, including the majority of the museums, so since it was another pretty day, we decided to go see some of the city's parks. We'd noticed a fortress named on the map but not much info on it, so we went to see what it was all about. The Fortezza de Basso is now used as a convention center, as we discovered when we walked up to one of the gates, but the guard there firmly told us it was not for public use and wished us a good day. So we meandered along the walls, checking out the former moat and water level along the ancient walls, then stopped to admire the fountain out front. It was a little cold though, so we didn't stay long, but continued on our trip to see the city parks. After crossing under the railroad tracks and passing a recent motorcycle accident (the rider had road rash pretty bad on one leg, and the ambulance wasn't far away when we walked by), we came to the biggest of the city parks, the Parco delle Cascine, which housed a velodrome, tennis courts, an athletic center, and what looked like a horse track. All closed, for whatever reason. We relaxed a bit off to the side under some trees, then found in the piazzale delle cascine, a small fountain with multitudes of turtles along its sides, sunning themselves, along with geese, ducks, pigeons, and a pair of black swans. We sat on a park bench to absorb the long-absent sun and watch a toddler feeding the pigeons and racing about the square. We each got matching red noses by the time we were ready to move on across the river. After crossing the Arno, we found some ice cream and wandered into the parklands of the Monte Uliveto, where I challenged Glenn to go up some pretty steep steps. Both of us were panting by the time we found an ancient tower in a clearing up top, but it was worth the effort. We found a low stone wall which dropped away into an olive grove and gave views out into the Tuscan countryside, dotted with country homes and large green fields & vineyards. We are loving the scenery here! As we rested on the wall, Glenn lay down and napped for a while as I read my book. I felt once more like I was in a movie or something; it seems like a scene out of one of my romance novels!!! This city park managed to make us feel like we were out in country solitude. Around 4, we realized we had better get back to our end of town, since we had plans to go see Gosford Park - in English, even! We arrived back at the hostel with snacks in hand to keep us tided over through the movie, and set out about 30 minutes before movie time. When we arrived at the correct theater right at starting time, we found a huge line of about 200 people, waiting to get tickets! We worried about not getting in or missing important stuff, but we stayed and managed to get in. Once inside, we found seats in the balcony and saw that it wasn't even full! This theater was housed in a palazzo originally built in the 1400's, with the theater a much more recent renovation by a famous architect of the 1800's who converted the stable and courtyard into the theater it is today. Its last renovation was completed in the 1920's, when it was given an Art Deco facelift. It was great! The movie was entertaining, although even I had trouble sorting out the accents of this Britain-set film. We headed back afterward, content and ready to sleep, but found ourselves invited into a game of Idiot (we had to be taught), where I lost 3 out of 6 games! I was ready to retreat at bedtime! |
| The turtle pond - they really love the sun, and were competing for space with swans, geese & ducks |
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| Florence has many areas of parkland where you can get away from the tourism and still see the views! |