The hotel we’re staying at is
really nice, and we’ll be staying here on our last day in Italy on our return
home. The place is clean and the people are very friendly, and though it’s not
fancy, it’s comfortable and in a great location, which is key to most things in
life. It is very centrally located near the Duomo and all the other great
sites. Then again, everything here is within walking distance. The family that
runs the Inn is very friendly, I’m guessing several generations making things
work. The elder grandmother is incredibly friendly, and she kept telling us how
nice our family is, mainly because I think A&N are well mannered and
polite. Plus, they’re cute and stylish enough to pass as Euro kids, especially
A.
One of my favorite things about
traveling in Europe is staying at Inn or B&Bs and heading into the dining
area for breakfast. It’s always a wonderful mix of cultures, and you hear all
sorts of languages being spoken. There are even a fair number of Americans
staying in this hotel. I also love trying out the different foods that at least
seem typical of a Euro breakfast, though I’m sure they cater to tourists and
gear the food to what they think they want. Either way, I love going and have a
cappuccino and croissant, then some fresh fruit, finished with some muesli. I
have to confess, in classic American style, I like to engorge myself on all you
can eat breakfast foods, but it’s so counter to how the Europeans eat. In lieu
of all that food just waiting to be eaten, they seem to get by with a croissant
and a cup of espresso. Then they’re off to face the day. I feel like such a
pig, but such is life.
On our last day in Florence, we
went to an exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci, who wasn’t born here, but really
thrived here since he was such an integral figure in the Renaissance. The
exhibit had all sorts of information about the man, not to mention dozens of
hands-on exhibits of his inventions. The guy was amazing, especially
considering the time. Just goes to show you what happens when you don’t spend
all your time watching TV and playing video games.
Naturally, since the show involved
gadgets and playing with them, A&N were right at home, especially N. They
both had engineer in their blood, but that’s especially true for N. The boy
loves machines. There was also a documentary on Leonardo that was very
informative about the Dark Ages and the Renaissance, which was nice - a good
homeschool lesson.
After the Leonardo show, we headed
over to the Basilica di Santa Croce, which is a cathedral where numerous notable Italian people
are buried, including Michelangelo, Dante, and Machiavelli. The cathedral was
magnificent as usual, incredible amounts of opulence and wealth. It’s striking
how prominent Italy was during this time in history.
From there, we stopped at a really
nice restaurant called Cantinetta dei Verrazzano and had what I think was our nicest meal in Florence,
though we were a little taken by surprise, which I never like. We made the
mistake of asking the waiter for suggestions, and he brought us more food than
we would normally eat, though it was an excellent variety of breads (bruschetta,
focaccia), local cheeses, and meats. It came out a little pricey, as well, but
what a nice meal. I need to lighten up when it comes to money, but I can’t.
After a big lunch, we finished our
day over that Medici House, which is one of the houses owned by the Medici
family who controlled much of Italy, and all of Florence, during the
Renaissance. They were the bankers who controlled all the money and their
wealth was unfathomable. Their home was bigger than most castles, and their
lifestyles reflected it. Just these incredible rooms filled with masterpieces.
I believe Napoleon moved into this house when he conquered Italy.
By the end of the Medici House, we
were pretty worn out, and it was getting late. Time to get back to our hotel
and get ready for our big trip to the Tuscan countryside.
Until then, thanks for reading.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment